I purchased these prior to my ACL surgery because 1) I could barely walk after the injury and 2) I wanted to get comfortable using them BEFORE I had to rely on them completely to get around after surgery. When looking for crutches I had no idea what to expect as I have only ever sprained my ankles before, and I hated the hospital crutches so much I refused to use them every single time! Let’s be honest, no one likes to use crutches and there is a learning curve when not being able to rely on your own two legs when walking…w/ crutches it’s like you have four legs with one being broken and just getting in the way. AND you have to use both your arms for support to make your legs and the crutches move without falling over. Seems simple, but for me it was a challenge. Initially, I was still hating crutches and couldn’t find a rhythm to using them but I got semi-comfortable to walking w/ them prior to surgery. The top is padded, so they are comfortable under your arms. When using them, I do not put much weight on them from under my arms…I straighten my arms and use more of the palm of my hand to transfer my weight onto them so I can walk. With regular crutches I tend to want to hold the hand bar with a tight grip. I tried to grip these (fingers going around the entire handle) and it felt awkward…when I started using the palm of my hand to push down…I realized how the ergonomic handle supported my hand and wrist while walking. (I attached some pictures to show what I mean…hope they help. Excuse my dog who would not get out of the picture, he knows I’m broken and stays close by my side). The spring in them also took a minute to figure out…once I did, they really soften the impact to your hands/arms and you don’t get tired out as quickly. It makes the transition of moving forward very fluid and not a harsh stop and go. These are lightweight but do not slip out from me while walking. I am starting to bear some weight on my injured leg and have found the spring assist has helped me control how much weight I put on my leg. They are easy to put together and quick and easy to adjust. I think I have finally found the perfect height for me. I actually stopped in the hospital parking lot before a post-op appointment and made them a little taller because the nurse in pre-op kept jacking with them to make them the same height as a “regular one”. The problem was, when I pushed down on them, they were then too short and I was bending my back forward which was throwing off my balance and hurting my back. She actually tried to move the handles as well and I was like please stop touching them lol These are definitely an upgrade from hospital crutches and it took me a little bit to get comfortable using them, but again, I hate crutches and didn’t really have any true experience with using them. If you get them and it feels awkward to walk with them, you probably just need to tweak a few things with either how you are using them or adjusting them to find your perfect fit! Hope this helps anyone else trying to figure out how they are going to survive mastering the art of walking with crutches ��
