Crutches

zechariah

Hi all,
I hope you all had a good Easter weekend and were as pain free as possible.

Crutches! Does anyone else suffer shoulder problems because of using them, I use a wheelchair whilst out and about and crutches around the bungalow, I am having shoulder problems and I am convinced that it is through prolonged use of the crutches, does anyone else have the same problems?

Zec

dee2010

hi zec i use crutches outside all the time and inside when needed but generally i try not to due to pain in my shoulders and elbows.
my elbows are the worst but yes you will get pains in other parts of the body that you don't use for the support normally.

i hope this helps davina

tonesp

Yes I used crutches after my hip replacement I felt as though that I had a permanently stiff neck.It was hard to turn my head left or right.Now it's gone and just a memory

madwestie

Zac, I have been using 1 crutch for the last 3 weeks (after i saw the physio) I was using a stick before and for me the stick was causing pain in my elbow but with the crutch i find i don't get any pain. But i only use 1 crutch at the moment. i do have the "fisher" crutches with the comfort hand grip i don't know if that makes any difference.
Tracey

joann1

Yep ive been using crutches for the last 11 weeks since my op and have had shoulder pain too but not only that my hands and fingers ache so much, ive just gone down to one crutch so im hoping that it makes things slightly better
Jo-Ann

dreamdaisy

I have been on crutches since 2002 and in the early days I found them a strain on my shoulders, neck etc. I now make a determined effort to stand straighter (it is far too easy to hunch over and rest too much uppper body weight on them) I try to keep my head up as much as I can, and I use them now for balance and stability, not support as such. Using them alternately is better than swinging both forward at the same time, left leg and right stick forward, then right leg and left stick - that also eases the strain. I do not grip them too hard either, I find that a loose control is enough.

I had some very good lessons from the physios in hospital after my first synovectomy - they made a difference to how I use them. My neck still scrunches up from time to time but a good sports masage helps to ease that. I wish you well. DD