Mobility Aids

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Basics

• Summary

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics

See, Play and Learn

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Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• No links available

For You

• Older Adults

Summary

Mobility aids help you walk or move from place to place if you are disabled or have an injury. They include

• Crutches
• Canes
• Walkers
• Wheelchairs
• Motorized scooters

You may need a walker or cane if you are at risk of falling. If you need to keep your body weight off your foot, ankle or knee, you may need crutches. You may need a wheelchair or a scooter if an injury or disease has left you unable to walk.

Choosing these devices takes time and research. You should be fitted for crutches, canes and walkers. If they fit, these devices give you support, but if they don't fit, they can be uncomfortable and unsafe.

Related Issues

• Gardening from a Wheelchair (Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center)
• Home Modifications
• Rehabilitation Engineering: What is Rehabilitation Engineering? (National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Crutch Use (American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons)
• Wheelchairs (Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Self-Help Devices (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Application and Reliability of Accelerometer-Based Arm Use Intensities in the Free-Living...
• Article: Lipid and carotenoid production by the Rhodosporidium toruloides mutant in cane...
• Article: Low-cost anaerobic digester to promote the circular bioeconomy in the non-centrifugal...
• Mobility Aids -- see more articles

Older Adults

• Eldercare at Home: Mobility Problems (AGS Foundation for Health in Aging)