The Ridiculousness of Crutches
Posted in The Trouble with Tendons on 09/14/2008 02:23 pm by RachelDo you remember as a child how you thought it would be so much fun to break something and get a cast or get to use crutches? You imagined no doubt that this would get you endless attention, treats, and special privileges. You would of course get to skip your chores, and, if you were lucky enough to break your right arm, maybe you would even get out of doing homework. This seemed like an ideal situation, right? Well, now after my first cast/crutches experience let me tell you…your childhood self was stupid, stupid, stupid!
My cast is enormous!
After surgery I was stuck in bed per the doctor’s orders: foot elevated, doped up, and lethargic.
After a few days of watching bits of movies between drug and exhaustion induced napping, I was feeling better and ready to start using my crutches for more than just going to the bathroom.
My little toes in my big cast.
Now that I have been using these annoying devices for a couple weeks I have realized that they, along with my enormous purple cast, make everything ridiculously hard to do. Only those who have been forced to use crutches and cope with a cast can truly understand the magnitude of this annoyance. Since this has been my first experience with casts and crutches I had no idea just how much they would drive me crazy!
Me seeking some sanity from a ride in the mountains.
For those of you who have never had this joyous experience let me help you visualize how your life on crutches would be. Imagine you have no hands (You can’t hold anything, duh…you are holding your crutches.) and that you have only one leg. In place of your second leg you have a deadweight that is tender, heavy, cumbersome, and useless. Now imagine trying to go about your daily tasks with your one useful appendage. You want to go shopping? Good luck. How are you going to hold your purse? How are you going to walk around a huge store? How are you going to push your cart? Or perhaps you just want to stay at home and take a nice hot shower. Well, too bad, you can’t. Unless you want to cover your cast with a garbage bag, tape the top to your skin with an overabundance of duct tape, try to somehow maintain your balance on one leg as you shampoo and soap up, all the while holding your other leg in an extremely awkward position in a useless attempt to keep your cast dry, only to realize in the end that you still got it wet and have to spend the next hour, following your exhausting shower, blow drying it. Sounds fun doesn’t it?
Yes, let me assure you, casts and crutches are not worth getting out of doing your chores.
Here are some of the more frustrating things about this unwieldy duo:
Stairs the Rachel way.
Stairs:
Since we have a two-story house I regularly have to go up and down the stairs. I have found that the easiest and safest way to do this is by sliding on my bum, dragging my crutches in one hand and balancing myself with the other. It looks and feels completely silly, and wears me out.
Our friend Jacob doing stairs an unsafe way.
Bathing:
If you have a cast or are getting one on your leg it is my solemn recommendation that you do not try to take a shower while casted. No matter what you do, no matter how many rubber bands and rolls of duct tape you use, no matter if you triple bag it, no matter what! If you take a shower with a cast your cast will almost inevitably get wet. I bagged, banded, and taped my leg absolutely comical amounts and still my cast somehow ended up wet. My suggestion is that instead of a shower, you take a bath. While bathing is still obnoxiously difficult, it requires less effort than a shower and is not nearly as risky as far as cast wetting goes. I recommend you follow this procedure when bathing with a cast on your leg: bag and tape your cast, have some sympathetic volunteer (that your are willing to let see your blubber) assist you in getting into the tub (If you don’t have any acquaintances that fit this description, good luck getting into the bath without assistance.), put your casted leg up on the side of the tub, fill the tub (I advise not getting the bath too full so you don’t risk getting your cast wet.), bath, drain the water, then seek help in getting back out again.
Jas blow drying my cast after my first showering attempt.
Carrying Anything:
If you have crutches there is only one way, and one way only, to carry an item thicker than a piece of paper-hopping. Yes, that’s right; you put your crutches down, pick your item up, lift up your decrepit leg and hop on your good leg until you reach your desired destination. This is hard work, if you don’t believe me give it a try, you will be panting in no time. Last week I had to transfer a vase of flowers a coworker had kindly given me from my car to the kitchen sink, to get some water for the thirsty flowers, and then to the living room where I wanted to display it. Since no one else was home to help me I was forced to hop all that way. Good thing I’m in shape is all I can say. I have hopped more in the last two weeks than I have the entire rest of my life put together.
Sleeping:
Simply put, sleep doesn’t happen. In the last two weeks I have been up tossing and turning in bed until 5 AM or later nearly every night. An uncomfortable position and an uncomfortable leg are not conducive to sleeping.
I have been trying to figure out some cure for this dilemma, taking Advil PM seems to help.
Writing my post
Having a cast and crutches does get me out of doing my chores and many of my normal daily tasks so I guess in that way all those childish dreams were accurate. However, instead of actually doing something productive with my energy I get to use it all crawling up stairs and hopping around like Thumper. So if you still think having crutches would be a blast let me know and I’d be happy to break your leg.
09/14/2008 at 7:43 pm
Not to be all sunny or anything (that would be way out of character today) but crutches are great! Imagine what you wouldn’t be able to do without them. Okay, I confess I have never used them. It seems like they would be really painful, less so for someone as light as you. Be glad for that.
If you’re going to do a lot of mountain drives I recommend the southern shore of Utah Lake from Lake Shore (by Spanish Fork) down to Genola. Then dinner at The Family Tree in Santaquin (Mmm, scones) and I-15 for the quick trip back.
Fun (and potentially money-saving) Factoid: The sleeping aid in Tylenol PM (and probably Advil PM) is Diphenhydramine, AKA Benadryl. I too am a fan of this stuff when I need to sleep better.
09/14/2008 at 9:00 pm
WTF being on crutches was always fun when I was a kid, hell you always have a weapon that you could crack Jason in the balls with. You could have even still played soccer if you had wanted to, I know I did as a kid. And going down and up stairs was always the funnest, cause there was always that chance that you would going over backward or forwards and would die a bit when it did happen. But overall it was still fun as heck.
That and my mom slit all my pants down the left seam and put velcro in them so I could still get them off and on easy… it was awesome.
09/14/2008 at 9:45 pm
Now hold on a minute- having a cast when you’re a kid is a blast (cast blast, I call it). Let me take you on a little trip. You and I actually have more in common that you realize (I don’t know I hadn’t thought of this before!). When I was in 4th grade, I was involved in what I would call a serious bike accident. I had my heel cut open,and my achilles tendon was nearly severed.
I got a sweet trip to the hospital, some surgery, and I have an awesome car on the back of my ankle. Anyway- guess what else I got? A cast, drugs, crutches, and a buttload of the good life. Yeah, stairs sucked, but I got carried. Bathing was hard, but I was a kid and bathing sucked anyway. I didn’t need to drive, people carried everything for me, no school, no homework, and being stuck in front of a TV all day was like being in heaven! Sleeping? Kids can sleep anywhere. Crutches were the shiz- set them too high and see how far you could vault. Everyone wanted to try them.
So my point: If you had your surgery when you were a kid it might have actually been all that you had hoped. As an adult, with responsibilities, obligations, and life in general, it’s a pain in the ass. Too bad this didn’t happen when you were twelve; it just might have been fun.
09/14/2008 at 11:19 pm
Don’t get me wrong. I am very grateful for the crutches, without them I wouldn’t have the limited mobility that I have now. So thanks crutches, you do your job well.
Andrew, I will have to try that mountain drive. Jas and I have been taking regular drives up AF and Provo canyons to keep me relatively sane. (I say relatively because am I ever THAT sane?) So it will be good to try another route.
Jeremy, I mean Der, I haven’t tried using my crutches to crack Jason in the balls yet but it’s good to know I’ve got them just in case I ever need to.:)
Jas would probably be excited if I put velcro seams in my pants-easy access.
And Cam, yes, as a lazy child crutches would probably be the bomb but as an adult they suck! I have gotten a couple piggy back rides down the stairs from Jas but for the most part I am on my own.
09/15/2008 at 2:54 pm
I just wanted to say that if you went up and down the stairs like I showed you, you would have some amazing, well defined legs! I mean just look at the work out! May be I should start my own work out video.
09/18/2008 at 12:18 am
Jacob, I already have one very well defined leg from hopping around constantly…my other leg is jiggly like Jell-O. It’s awesome and amazing!
09/29/2008 at 11:06 pm
Just in way of an update, once your foot has healed a little more, Jacob’s “dangerous” way of stair travel works fine. But it is definitely not the way to go up and down the stairs in the first couple weeks after surgery.
11/14/2008 at 3:33 pm
I think I am prob older than you lot, at 57. I live alone in uk and have no family nearby. I was very fit and broke my ankle 2 weeks ago out hiking. But I’m overweight, non-weight bearing and the crutches frequently reduce me to tears of exhaustion.
I have borrowed a wheelchair and tend to just crawl around the house. But I think friends are suggesting I’m not persistent enough with crutches and should try harder…ouch!!
11/16/2008 at 2:42 pm
Hi Pat,
I’m sorry you are having to deal with crutches. They are very annoying! They do become slightly easier to deal with after you have been on them for a few weeks. I shortened mine so that they weren’t in my armpits. It forced my arms do all the work, so they did get tired, but it kept me from getting the armpit bruises I know are common for crutch users. I hope you will be on your feet again soon, until then, just hang in there!
04/14/2009 at 7:42 pm
Hey Rachel maybe you can help me out - I too broke my ankle and am not weight bearing. I use walker, not crutches. I am too heavy and unfit and I can’t hop upstairs on crutches the proper way. So I tried this bum sliding method up and down the stairs and here is what I simply do not get - how do I get up from the floor once I get to upstairs, and how do I sit down when I go back? I guess it doesn’t help that there is nothing to grasp at on the second floor… I hauled my walker with me, but it doesn’t seem to be stable, especially when trying to use it to sit down. So basically, this time around my son helped me to my feet and back, but I want to be able to do it myself… So, how do you get off your bum once you reach the second floor - and how do you sit down?
Thanks a lot!
04/15/2009 at 9:43 pm
Hi Zina,
I’m sorry you are having to deal with the mess of going up and down the stairs in a cast. It really is a lot of work and very tricky. I would be happy to do my best to help you. I used my stairs’ railings to stabilize myself while I was sitting down and to pull myself back up. It sounds like you don’t have a railing at the top of your stairs? That makes it even trickier. Some ideas that might help:
Continuing sliding on your bum when you get to the top of your stairs until you reach a door frame, you could use the door frame as a brace while you are pulling yourself up.
You could also use a stable piece of furniture.
I hope that helps. Stairs are very frustrating to deal with when you can’t use both your legs.
Good luck!
08/07/2009 at 9:15 am
Hi there! Thank you for taking the time to write about your trials and tribulations on casts/crutches. I was searching the net for ideas on how to take showers with crutches and I came across your blog.
I’m single and live alone and have the unfortunate reliance on crutches. On Wed of this past week I was out playing softball and as I was running for the ball I heard (and felt) a loud pop! Instantly I was unable to walk. Luckily it was my left leg so I left my ball game early (second inning) and drove myself to the hospital. After a few hours they were able to determine that I hadn’t broken anything but that I had severely pulled my calf muscle (for which I will require rehabilitation for afterwards) and the possibility of emergency surgery should it not get any better. In the meantime the doctor recommended the use of crutches for which I fought him on. Insisting that I could walk (even though I was limping and merely using my toes for stability) and he of course, was less than impressed with my hesitance on using crutches. I’m on day 2 of using them and am still having difficulty. I’ve pulled all muscles in my arms using the crutches too! I’ve even been lucky enough to fall using the crutches, only once (so far, this morning), stepping off the curb walking to my car. Luckily I landed on my bum. I escaped injured free! lol.
I don’t really have a question for you but just simply a thank you! I may not have a cast and I maybe able to put a little bit of weight on my foot but we are all in the same boat. Happy writing and you now have a new reader! Thank you
Jenn
08/12/2009 at 9:33 pm
Jenn,
Good luck with the crutches! I know they are tricky and frustrating to use.
I fell down the stairs once when I was using mine. Man did that hurt!
I wish you and your calf a speedy recovery!
09/29/2009 at 6:29 pm
I’ve been on crutches for six weeks now, and I just have a few tips for any future readers of your blog (if you don’t mind that is!).
#1. Showers - I’m in a nonweight bearing fiberglass cast that can’t get wet, so I bought a shower seat. Lifesaver I tell you! Well worth the $40!! And then I purchased a cast cover! http://nwmedicalsolutions.com/pd-waterproof-cast-cover-adult-short-leg.cfm This is also a lifesaver! Absolutely no water is touching this cast!
#2. Stairs - Take it slow! Going up the stairs (I broke my left foot) I take my left crutch and put that on the opposite wall, put my left foot on the stair, hold onto the banister behind me and push up with my right crutch, and I move my left crutch with each stair I hop up. It takes a while, but I haven’t fallen once! Going down the stairs, I use both crutches, stick my left foot out in front of me, lean back a little, put the crutches down to the next step and hop down. Sounds dangerous, but much more effective than sitting on your butt!
#3. Crutches in general - Your arms will scream in pain for the first couple of weeks, and so will your “good” leg. And this is the worst thing I can say & surely not the thing you want to hear, but the pain will go away. You just have to keep using them. I’m stuck on them for another three weeks, and I get upset every morning that I can’t walk.
Anyone who gets stuck on crutches, good luck. Take everything really slow, don’t be afraid to ask for help, and complain to everyone. No one else can feel the physical pain you’re in right now or the emotional struggle you’re going through with not being able to walk, so let them know how you feel.
09/29/2009 at 9:50 pm
Aimee, thanks for your additional feedback. I did use a shower chair once my cast was off but I didn’t know such a thing as “cast covers” existed. I would have been all over that!
As I got a little more used to the crutches, and off the high doses of pain medication, I did stop sliding up and down the stairs on my butt. I got pretty good at holding the crutches with one hand, the banister with the other, and just hopping up or down the stairs.(This mode of stair travel did make my hubby a little nervous.) But Percocet, crutches, and stairs are a bad combo! The butt sliding was necessary for me for the first couple weeks after surgery; I was just too drugged to be stable. I’m glad you have found a method that works for you.
Good luck with the crutches over the next three weeks! They are a constant annoyance!
10/15/2009 at 9:49 pm
I was recently told that I have to have almost the same surgery the only difference is they put me on crutches now before it, because I have severe nerve damage and my toes keep going numb. But anyways I hate crutches! I used them for aprox. twenty minutes and started getting bruises under my armpits.
10/19/2009 at 8:10 pm
Hi Shai,
You can save your armpits all that pain by simply shortening your crutches so that they don’t quite reach all the way into them. Then you use your arms to support you instead of your armpits. It does get a little tiring sometimes but you build sweet arm muscles pretty fast and you won’t get any armpit bruises.
10/30/2009 at 8:23 am
been on crutches for 6 weeks now thanks to some guy in a car who didn’t like my motorcycle…….will be riding again in about 3 weeks (so says my Dr.)…anyhow….most pain I’ve found is coming OFF the crutches….the achelies (sp?) tendon and other foot muscles have atrophied and while there is NO pain at the site of the break, there’s quite a bit of pain in my heel and arch.
Best of luck you you!
11/01/2009 at 5:22 pm
Hi Bryan,
I didn’t have too many issues from atrophy in my foot, though my calve was an entirely different matter. Good luck to you! I’m sure your foot will be feeling better in no time.
12/26/2009 at 11:39 am
Hi Rachel,
Even though you wrote and posted this over a year ago, I’m glad it’s still up on the internet for the world to find. I’m sitting here in my cast (broken ankle) nursing the cramps in my upper arms brought on by those &*$##@@ crutches. Reading your post, I laughed so hard the cramps loosened up! I loved “Stairs the Rachel Way”. That’s me these days - up and down the ridiculous way. At first I laughed about it - two weeks later and it’s not so funny anymore.
Thanks for your sense of humor and your post. I’m laughing again.
Hope your leg is better!
12/31/2009 at 6:30 pm
Hi Pam,
I’m glad you enjoyed the post! I figured I would either be laughing or crying about the situation with my leg so I might as well be laughing. It is miserable trying to deal with a cast. I hope you will be free of it soon! Good luck in your recovery!
01/21/2010 at 9:27 pm
Rachel -
Thanks for your blog. On week three of 6-8 week cast for a broken leg. Crutches are horrible. They are simply torture devices that should be banned under the Geneva Convention. I fell twice in 48 hrs (once on steps and one when my cruch slid wildly on a plastic food lid) and now I’m thinking of asking the doc for an x-ray just to make sure I didn’t displace the bone…because of crutches. I recommend for the best mode of indoor transit: secretarial chairs (will only work on hardwood floors or tile.) I went to a conference at a hotel last week and rented a wheelchair. Some people asked me why I didn’t use crutches. Of course these people had never used crutches or they wouldn’t have asked. Of course after I’m done complaining, I think about Haiti, and then I realize how fortunate I am. When I’m done I’m donating my crutches to a relief organization. Because at the end of the day, crutches do their job and if there was a better way, someone would have invented it.
01/22/2010 at 11:55 am
Hi Jon,
Crutches are a pain! I’m sorry you’ve fallen twice. I fell down my garage stairs once while I was on crutches and that hurt like nothing else.
Going to a conference while in a cast…you are a brave man. I had a hard time just keeping up with normal daily tasks.
Good luck to you!
02/21/2010 at 2:30 pm
Has anyone sustained nerve damage from improper use of crutches. off crutches for two weeks now and nerve pain is awful. Taking gabapentin, which helps some, but am worried about how long it takes to heal. Was not given insructions when i recieved crutches, put weight under armpits instead of on hands. Any ideas?
02/24/2010 at 8:40 pm
Lisa,
I’m so sorry you are having issues with nerve pain. I had some problems with that as well about 3 or 4 weeks after surgery - man did it hurt!
Did you have surgery or just break your leg?
If you had surgery then experiencing nerve pain is quite normal for the first month or two - unfortunately. But as you become more mobile it should improve and go away.
If you were on crutches due to a break and are experiencing nerve pain now I’m not sure what to tell you. I completely avoided resting the crutches in my armpits. I adjusted my crutches to be shorter and solely used the muscles in my arms to work them. It took a lot more effort but I didn’t want the armpit bruising I had heard a lot of crutch-users complain about. For some reason doctors don’t seem to tell people about shortening crutches as an option to prevent armpit soreness. Maybe they just figure most people are too lazy to operate their crutches the hard way like I did. My doctor actually didn’t give me many pointers on using crutches either besides the basic way to step with them; I just messed around with them until I found a length that worked for me and didn’t hit my armpits. I am so sorry that you weren’t given enough information to make your crutch experience as pain-free as possible.
If you didn’t have surgery and you are experiencing nerve pain I would definitely talk to you doctor. If you did have surgery, don’t worry, the nerve issues should go away soon.
Good luck! I hope you get feeling better!