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My right leg is non-weight bearing for the last couple of months and for the next few at least. This means i am using a pair of crutches. Not a big issue? Not initially but it becomes a right pain when you try and do anything because you can't move and use either of your hands.
Want a cup of tea? Ask the wife to make it or balance next to the kettle while you make and drink it.
Want a beer? Ask the wife to get it or balance while you open it and drink it where you stand.
Want to eat something? Ask the wife to make it or make it and eat it stood in the same place.
Want to put a log of the fire? Ask the wife to do it.
You get the picture. If only I had some way of moving with one crutch while still supporting my leg and not wobbling too much. i looked on the web and such a thing exists but they charge £300!! [edit for confused bloke]
sod that, I will built one.
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Any engineering types reckon they could knock up something similar? It simply slides onto the bottom of a standard NHS arm crutch but allows the user to walk with just one crutch and rest their legs.
Confused...you've made that one or it's £300?
Wouldn't be difficult to knock up.
i knocked that up using scrap from the garage. The 'proper' ones are £300
Pros:
I can walk and carry a cup of tea/beer/plate
I can walk longer distances as my leg takes my weight instead of just my arms
It was cheap to make
it is one crutch to carry rather than 2
Cons:
It looks rubbish
It is slower walking than with two crutches
It is slightly more awkward going up and down stairs
It is heavier than aluminium crutches
Make another one in Ti and carbon. Then you'll be reet. 🙂
TBF that's an ideal application for DIY carbon IMO.
I reckon that if I had access to some tubing and welding gear it would be the work of moments to turn this into a viable product.
A tube that acts as a sleeve around the original crutch. A couple of cross struts to the othe leg, which would be height adjustable like the main leg. The knee platform would be on another adjustable tube welded to the cross struts.
Cost a few quid to knock up and sold to every orthopaedic department in the country.
Anyone want to help me form the WCA Limpa Leg company?
Get your wife to weld one up.
What happened to the leg anyway?
You can get 22mm aluminium tube readily enough (Droitwitch on ebay), if copper isn't strong enough. Then use 22mm push fit plumbing bits to hold it together. Just need to machine up the connector to the main crutch then, probably from a couple of bars of solid ally.
Updated to give a better height, less wobble and a bigger kneeling platform
Can't embed pics from the ipad
The old Long John Silver type that you wedge under your armpit are easier to use and support yourself one handed. If you are non-weight bearing you should be using those anyway I would have thought.
Apparently the underarm type are easier to use initially but cause more problems in the long term with rubbing, posture and speed of movement. Still common in the USA though which is why most the NWB crutch devices are designed to work with them rather than European shorter crutches.
Ask for a cracked MTB frame to butcher and a local welder could knock something up for you...(I've a cracked Cove but I'm in Ireland otherwise you would have been welcome to it)
Apparently there is a frame builder down near Southampton station. Might be worth a visit...
I had the underarm ones for the first 7 weeks my leg was in plaster (spiral fracture of tib, so NO WEIGHT BEARING allowed) then was changed to the other sort for the 2nd 7 weeks as I started to put a bit more weight through it.
Just a thought - when you go into the kitchen to make something or fetch something, can't you take a rucsack with you?
Cup of tea - bit of a ballache, but make it in a flask & carry flask & a mug back into the living room in the rucsack.
Beer - stick beer, glass & bottle opener in rucksack & carry back into living room
Food - make food, stick in tupperware pot. Tupperware pot, plate, knife fork in rucsack.....not ideal if you've made roast or something, but would be OK for sandwiches, pasta dishes etc....?
Your design does look like it would be ripe for a bit of home carbon fettling. Or how about one of those fibre glass body repair kits you can get from Halfords. Make a foam mould & wrap in fibre glass. Biggest issue would be joining that to the leg of the crutch, but not insurmountable....
They sometimes use the armpit crutches for the larger people to reduce the weight carried on the forearms.
Are you 'big', BigJohn?
I was quite big after the 3 months of relative inactivity but no, that wasn't the reason. As a windsurfer and singlespeeder I had upper body strength to spare.
Carrying stuff in a bag is possible but not easy. A free swinging bag works but keeps hitting the crutches. A back pack works but is difficult to put on and take off with two crutches. I have tried.
I have sketched up a basic design which I might take to a frame builder (Demon Frameworks?) to see if he can do anything.
One pipe with a foot on the bottom. One pipe with the leg rest fitted to the top. One pipe to slide the normal crutch into. Weld the three pipes together and the jobs done.
What could possibly go wrong?
BigJohn - I asked for the armpit crutches initially but was told the short ones were better for me. I guess it comes down to the doctors and what they have in the cupboard.
When I broke my wrist and 'holed' my leg (same side) I had the same kinda issues, wife even had to buy me slip-on shoes - as until you've only one hand you don't realise that it takes two to tie your laces...
I used a zimmer frame round the house when I broke my hip and was non weight bearing.
Much more stable.
Maybe one of them with a platform across at knee height?
Fair enough WCA > I figured there was probably a reason you weren't doing it, but thought it worth mentioning.
Br - funny one for me was when I managed to get into the office and was chatting while some blokes were moving furniture around the office. They started to move the cupboard my coffee was on so i picked up the cup. Finished chatting and my colleague walked off.
I was stood with a boiling hot coffee in my hand, leaning against a pillar with no way to either put the coffee down or move.
About five minutes later my colleague can back, stared at me and then laughed when he realised what had happened before taking my half empty coffee cup off me.
It's hard to look like you are casually leaning without a care in the world when you know you are marooned 😉
Wwwas - I see the doc for an update on the 17th. After that I should have a better idea of how long I will be in what state. Did the Zimmerman help with carrying things? Also, what did you use when out of the house? I need to go to client sites up in London occasionally so need something smart that can go on the train/ tube
I used crutches when out and about, tbh,
Round the house I tended to use one crutch andhopped or the frame for more stable progress but hot drinks were an issue - I got a travel mug I could seal up so it didn't spill.
I was non weight bearing for about 8 weeks so didn't have time to do a huge amount of research bug there must be mobility aid placed that sell solutions to these problems.
I did find a wheel chair pretty useful as well - you have a lap to rest things in when you move around - maybe have one at your permanent place of work?
I use a pair of crutches when out and about. No permenant place of work so can't leave a chair there. I have access to a Boma off road wheel chair sometimes so can go on most of the trails up the woods.
Moving around the house when trying to carry things is the big pain, plus walking any distance makes me sweat.
12weeks so far and probably another three months, possibly more to go depending on what the Doc says on 17th
I hope you find a solution to this but I think looking for an existing one will give you the quickest win.
a tripod shape would give you more stability .
also the shape of the foam to rest your shin could be curved on each side to make it more secure . a foam velcro strap round it and you could only use 1 crutch .
Looked for existing ones. The iWalkFree is £300 and awkward to strap on and take off. The OneCrutch needs an armpit crutch. There is another one but expensive and only available from the US.
The tripod is more stable but a lot more cumbersome when walking and moving.
The padding on my prototype is pipe lagging because that is all i could find in the garage so curves the wrong way.
I can walk okay with just one crutch without a velcro strap. Adding the strap would add security but also be inconvenient. The iWalkFree has straps and they are one of the main complaints about it on the forums.
Sketch of the next version assuming I can find someone who can weld and has some pipe.
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Have you not got a set of old double crown forks laying around you could butcher?
What you need is a perching stool/zimmer combo. Couple of wheels on one end, couple of rubber stoppers on the other - when you're not sitting on it, you're using it as a mobile table.
Or a 4-wheeled walker with brakes on - like any of these
Glutton - try using something like that from your house, into a taxi, train to Waterloo, tube to Bank, up 5 set of stairs and back down and then Northern line to Moorgate where you walk into a business presentation with a global bank.
My current model ain't pretty but works. Built properly it will look okay too.
I am aiming at something that gives mobility in and outside the house
I live alone home help were a god send but not there all day. So used a flask for all drinks and later got myself a sort of trolley (similar to hospital table that you eat off) from Lidls or try Ebay. Another option is Stick beer cans, bottles flask or even meals in a shoulder bag.
i once joked carbon fibre crutches for you adrenalin sport types would be pretty cool (but pretty point pointless also) I have some tube you can have somewhere if you get stuck carbon and aluminium
Bump for mum to look at
Just thought, wear a Camelbak 🙂
Sorry, a bit too lazy to read all the posts, so maybe this has been mentioned already..
Your construction is a bit hefty, as you say, and as it's only supporting your leg, could you get away with lighter bits of wood? I take it your good leg is still bearing most of your weight, and the rest is so that your chewed up ankle is off the ground?
mail me sizes of tube and stuff and I'll have a play
Sea dog - the leg support is made up of what I had in the garage so is a bit bigger than necessary. It is designed to take half of the body weight so needs to be reasonably strong. The idea is that it allows me to walk with a single crutch without stressing the other ankle out.
Walking when none weight bearing means taking a lot of strain through your arms and one good ankle. This reduces strain on the good ankle and frees up the arms. Google Iwalkfree to see an American version with lots of explanations. The problem with tat solution, apart from cost, is the time taken to fit and remove it. This makes it unusable when taking a taxi to the train, then walking to the tube, then he tub journey and then walking to the office.
My design overcomes these issues.
Boob - I have emailed you the design details. Feel free to giggle at the fact I used MS Paint instead of Autocad. Please let me know if you can do anything. My wooden solution weighs a ton. Steel tubing is fine btw
Br - camelback has the last of the Russian Winter that Rob the Beer dropped round
Updated design with measurements for Mat
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https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/tMQH2wAepXWOY_fGlXGEFdMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
Grrr, picasa has improved its design so I can't copy the URL and post the picture.
Give me a few minutes to find another photo hosting site that works
[img] http://www.flickr.com/photos/89686376@N04/8269606816/ [/img]
http://www.flickr.com/photos/89686376@N04/8269606816/
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8224/8269606816_7fdd81fa2d.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/89686376@N04/8269606816/ ]Crutch[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/89686376@N04/ ]WCA![/url], on Flickr
Due to the kindness of a random stranger for STW I now have a properly constructed knee crutch thingly.
I will post a pick up in the morning when I can work out how to use the imporived Picassa.
Anyway, thanks to the guy who I do not know but apparently once met near Brackenl while I was promoting the Big Bike Bash. He has taken the time and materials to make me something proper and posted it to me first class so I get it before Christmas. Not asked for money but I will sort him out with something.
I won't name him incase he is shy but top bloke.
Big round of applsuse from STW please!
Excellent. There are lots of good people in the world and it is good to see 2 of them come together.
There's him, Who's the other one then?
😉
Thanks for the compliment