Selection Guide for Multi legged Walking Stick

The walking stick is a common single-arm walking aid, which is composed of a handle, a rod, and a foot. It is mainly used for the elderly and those with lower limb dysfunction. It can provide weight bearing and support for the lower limb, to maintain body balance.

According to the number of legs, walking sticks are divided into single-legged, three-legged, and multi-legged walking sticks.

How to buy a multi-legged walking stick?

After the user gets a new walking stick, he/she should first conduct an overall observation to ensure that all parts of the walking stick are free of burrs, sharp edges, and protrusions that damage clothes or cause discomfort to the user. During contact, the surface material shall not stain the clothes, skin, and ground. It is not allowed to make abnormal noise when supporting the ground. After confirming the appearance, start to check each part of the cane. The handle shall be adjustable, safe, and firm. The shape design and material surface of the handle cover shall have the characteristics of effective anti-skid, nonabsorbent, replaceable, and easy to clean. The width shall be between 25 mm and 50 mm. The diameter of the foot bottom should be greater than 35 mm, avoiding the "cup-like" design of suction, firmly installed, not easy to fall off, and can be replaced.

After confirming that all components meet the requirements, use and adjust them. The height of the cane can be determined by measuring the distance between the ground and the greater trochanter of the femur when standing (wearing shoes), or the distance from the outside of the foot to the palm when the elbow bends 30 degrees and the wrist extends 25 degrees. The height adjustment device shall not be loose in use, and the adjusting parts shall be flexible in use. When not in use, it should be able to adjust and lock. When the height is adjusted to the lowest, the vertical space height of the center of the cane base shall not be less than 120 mm.

Stability is the key item of cane detection, which is usually judged by the inward/outward tipping angle. If the balance ability is poor, or there is a history of stroke, arthritis or leg injury, poor support, etc. It is advisable to use multi-legged walking sticks to improve balance and support the body. For those who choose a four-point support cane with higher requirements for stability, an asymmetric design that is conducive to the distribution of the center of gravity can be considered. At the same time, it should be noted that since the support area of the multi-legged walking stick is increased. Each foot is required to fall on the step when going up and down the stairs. Otherwise, there is a risk of tipping.

Here is another point to note

If it is an uneven outdoor road surface, due to the large area of the end of the multi-legged walking stick and the claw shape separation when the gait is abnormal, it will lead to the collision interference between the walking stick claw and the swinging leg on the same side. The swing will occur because the foot can not land at the same time.