Walking stick or rollator?

Hi, I went to a rheumatologist appt last week and he asked me if I could walk unaided, or used a walking stick or aids. I told him I could walk unaided (and showed him by walking to the door and back), but that for longer distances eg within the home I sometimes used a rollator for a very short time. (I’ve worked really hard on physio the past few months to get this far. )

My question is, does using a rollator and/or walking stick or crutches (I’m sure I’d have to practice & only build up slowly), help people to walk for longer? Could it help me?

Does anyone use a walking stick or rollator or any other aids to walk, for short or long distances? I don’t really hear of that many people with ME using them and I’m not sure why? (I only usually hear of people with EDS & other chronic conditions using them).

Could it help with redistributing weight, help feel less dizzy & unbalanced, and help with pain in the legs? Or what exactly is it supposed to help with? I hadn’t even considered them until the doctors asked about them when assessing my function. I’ve never had a proper OT assessment which focused on this, only one that dealt with housing.

Interested in thoughts or experiences with any aids!
(Edited to add crutches)

 

I use a walking cane sometimes, and I do find that it helps

Mine is a HurryCane: tri-foot, foldable, freestanding, all-terrain, pivoting, with a shock absorbing handle. I'm very happy with it, but I haven't tried any other canes or a rollator so I have nothing to compare it to.

I think it looks amazing too Which I believe actually matters, especially when getting ones first ever cane and maybe feeling a bit hesitant about how other people will react.



The main reason that walking is so very difficult for me is very severe orthostatic intolerance. A cane obviously won't stop me from fainting, but I do find that it helps with balance when getting dizzy. It does help with redistributing weight too (especially if you alternate sides now and then), and possibly even taking some of the weight off?

I'm not able to stay upright long enough to know if it reduces lactic acid build-up in my muscles enough to potentially help me walk for longer (I'll faint sooner than my muscles will seize up or give out). I only walk very short distances, like within my home or to the letterbox outside the house.

The only negative thing about the HurryCane, in my opinion, is that it isn't suitable to use in the winter when the ground is covered in ice and snow. (I'm looking for a good foldable cane with ice tip attachment, so if anyone has any recommendations please let me know.)

Yes, I think it's possible that a cane could help you too

 

I'm talking from the perspective of what I think is logical now, not from any training or personal experience.

Using a walking stick is surely best for people who have one bad leg and one good leg. If your legs are equally good or equally bad then a rollator would probably be safer.

If you do decide to try a cane, don't use Dr House from the series House MD as an example of how to use one. He used his cane on the wrong side of his body, and it got criticized so often that they eventually had to include the problem in one of the episodes.

See no 18 in this link : https://screenrant.com/no-sense-house-dr/

 

Thank you @mango! This is really helpful. I hadn’t realised there were different walking sticks for different things. It looks like the Hurry cane is one of the best ones for balance. I love the colour as well. (Of course I would love pink even more but I can’t have it all ) I’m going to order one to try! I’ll report back.

Yes I’m in a similar position -
dizziness & feeling unbalanced & OI symptoms, but also pain & fatigue / fatigability are the main factors stopping me from walking. I had read that walking sticks & aids can help with balance / fatigue so I was curious. A foldable walking stick could be good indoors as it won’t be difficult to manoeuvre like a rollator, but also even to take out with me, in a bag at the back of a wheelchair, if I can do a small walk outdoors one day.

 

I have used a rollatof and a foldable cane for years.
The rollator is very good for stopping and sitting down as needed. Mine also has a seat bag, which can hold quite a bit of stuff, so cuts down on number of journeys in the home.
I can't remember if you're UK based(?) as if yes, you can ask your GP to organise an occupational therapist visit to work out what aids you need.

If not it would still be a good idea to take professional advice as sizings vary, and sticks need adjusting ( can be hard to do.)

I am not a big person, but as I have lately swap my Amazon- purchased folding stick with a substantial nhs one. It feels much steadier and getting in and out of cars is easier. I have two now and am still getting used to using them together.

Lastly, with sticks, the best wrist handle I have found is one I made myself out of elastic hair scrunchies - without something being attached to my person...it can and will end up lost or in the way.

 

I've never been able to use a stick, but I use this rollator (minus the bag on the front) to get me from the changing room to the swimming pool. It's very manoeuvrable, and another advantage is that it turns almost instantly into an emergency chair if I go wobbly—you just put the brakes on, turn round, and park your bum on the seat. It also folds up, meaning that I can chuck it in the car easily. Stylish it ain't, but I'm more interested in function!



They're well over £100 new, but after waiting a couple of months to find the right listing, I got mine with a £22 eBay bid from a seller who happened to live nearby. You can often find mobility stuff secondhand quite cheaply, as once people no longer have a need for it, they don't want to have to store it.

ETA: Duh, I forgot the link. This is just one example, but I think the same design is branded by more than one company: https://www.completecareshop.co.uk/...MIg6HNt4ns-AIVwBoGAB052gmgEAQYAyABEgLcj_D_BwE

 

I use a standard walking stick like elderly people use, in fact it was my grandmother's stick. Its wooden or a branch or bamboo or something, with the top bent over like shepherd's crook for the handle. I couldnt manage without it. For balance and support.
I dont always use it at home because i have furniture/grab rails to lean on instead, but outside, i'd be on my face/backside within moments if i didnt have it

 

I too use my grandmother’s walking stick. A stick helps me for two reasons, one as actual support when orthostatic issues are to the for, but also as a signal to others and to myself when I am outside.

I find there is almost a dyspraxic element at play. In general, except when my orthostatic intolerances is more marked, I am fine at home or in the garden, when I know the terrain well and have things to grab onto or fall against if needed. However outside even over smooth ground a walking stick helps focus my attention, as I need to concentrate more on what I am doing in order not to fall or trip and getting distracted by having to do other things like look out for traffic or talk to someone makes walking much harder. A walking stick reminds me to focus on the act of walking and makes it more acceptable to ignore other people, and the additional stability is rather a secondary added bonus if things do go wrong.

At present a rollator is more than I need.

(NB Also at present it is useful to enforce social distancing. Holding the stick out helps stop people getting too close, which would be harder to achieve with a

 

My daughter has both.
It really depends how she feels as to which she uses- in particular how bad OI is and how knackered she feels.

She is self conscious with the rollator - it's not a thing you see many younger people use and its quite noisy. Its bright green so definitely the psychology of giving people an excuse to look at it to help control anxiety.


She has a significant birthday coming up and this is on her wishlist. Pretty damn cool and also a mark of acceptance of her condition.

https://www.neo-walk.com/product/dna-do-not-ask/


https://www.neo-walk.com/

 

The walking stick came! I really love it. My mum managed to fix it to the right height for me. It does hurt my arm to carry it and put weight on it, but I’m hoping that with time it gets better.

And I’ve noticed that when I use it, I definitely feel more balanced & less dizzy. I don’t know why that would be? I walked double the distance in the home (still a short distance though!) I usually walk, and this time the balance issues didn’t stop me as much, it was the usual pain in my legs that did. But the downside is that my arms hurt more now. But I’ll keep using it in small amounts of walking. (And yes I agree about seeing an OT, I’m going to contact one soon. And thanks everyone for sharing experiences & recommendations).

 

It might be that it provides an additional source of feedback about your position in space, which is enough to help reduce the disorientation (which can feel like dizziness).

I'm one of those people who falls over if they stand up and shut their eyes. Nothing to do with ME, I've just never known which way is up if I can't see. But if I can rest one set of fingertips against a wall, it sometimes gives me enough additional information to stop me keeling over even though it doesn't actually offer much physical support.

If that sounds at all familiar, it might be worth experimenting with how much you need to lean on your stick as you gradually get used to it. It's possible that it's as much about learning to be upright again as it is about supporting your muscles, and that you could learn to use it as a balance aid without making your arms hurt by leaning on it heavily.

(I might also be talking twaddle, though! )