Disability Aid Guide: Wheelchairs, Crutches, and Knee Scooter

Ouch!! Injured feet or ankles are both painful. Even after the pain subsides, you need to keep the weight off from the wounded foot, which can reduce your mobility. This is extensively important for a speedy recovery. 

But have you ever researched disability aids? Or how to choose the right assistance? These are the tools that offer you easy movability along with a remarkable recovery rate.  

Such tools are wheelchairs, crutches, and knee scooters. But, which one is right for you? Here is a quick comparison of various mobility aids so that you can make an informed decision.

• Wheelchair

As the name suggests, this chair has wheels at the bottom, which helps move the user. It is suitable when you find difficulty in walking due to illness, old age, or disability. Wheelchairs come in a variety of specifications to meet the requirements of individuals. 

It is one of the popular aids, that has around 1.2 million users alone in the UK. Among them, ⅔ are regular users. Let’s have a peek at the advantages that make it popular.

Pros of Wheelchair

• This chair is convenient to use as you can carry an object on your lap.
• It offers more comfort than crutches. 
• Unlike other mobility aids, you do not require balancing.
• Plus you can use a wheelchair at various places like the kitchen or desk without transferring.

Cons of Wheelchair

• The wheelchair is big and heavy and sometimes gives you poor movability. 
• Its giant size makes it difficult to transport the user to the car. 
• Unlike crutches, you can’t utilize it on the stairs. 
• While using a wheelchair, both your legs are in a rest position. So your legs can be weaker than before and require more exercise when you start walking again.

Crutches

Essentially, crutches are a mobility aid that moves the weight from the leg to the chest area. It is mostly used by people who can’t utilize their legs due to short term injuries to lifetime disabilities.

We prefer you to utilize it only after the recommendation of the doctor or qualified healthcare professional. They are generally used in pairs to offer support while walking by relieving the weight from one foot. Let’s have a look at the pros and cons:

Pros of Crutches

• Crutches are one of the cost-effective aids to use.
• They are lightweight and small, which makes it easy to transport them. 
• The advantage of its size lets you utilize it in the bathroom.
• The prime benefit of crutches is that it strengthens your arm and exercises your unhurt leg. 

Cons of Crutches

• For using it, you require good balancing skill and upper body strength. Or else there is a risk of falling. 
• Crutches are less steady than wheelchairs and knee walkers.
• When you are holding the crutches, you may find it difficult to open doors.

Knee Walkers

A knee walker or a knee scooter comes with two, three, or four wheels and is an excellent alternative to a crutch and wheelchairs. Over time, with many inventions in the mobility aids world, it has quickly gained popularity. 

Let’s look at why it is popular.

Pros of Knee Walkers

• It offers the flexibility of a crutch and stability of a wheelchair. 
• The standing position can help you in doing routine tasks like cooking food, washing hands, brushing.
• It can move quickly as it is lightweight.
• There is less concern about slipping with the knee walker, and you don’t require much upper body strength to use it.

Cons of Knee Walkers

• Knee walkers are more costly than a pair of crutches.
• You can’t use a knee walker if you have an injury to your joint.
• You can’t use it on the stairs, which may be problematic for many people. 

Over To You

In the end, all of them are mobility aids and serve the people who have some injuries or sort of disabilities. You can use a crutch if you are willing to have upper body strength. Or If you are looking for an easy-to-use aid, then a knee walker or a wheelchair are your way to go.

If you are not sure which mobility aids are best for you, be sure to consult your doctor.