Height Adjustment of Walking Aids: a Key Factor in Effectiveness

In the video above, we observe a demonstration with three different walking aids: a Weeleo® one-handed walker, a rollator, and a cane. For each tool, two handle heights are tested: a low position and a high position.

This demonstration highlights an often underestimated point: the proper height adjustment of a walking aid determines its effectiveness… and the patient’s safety.

Why Adjust the Height of a Walking Aid?

Walking aids have two main functions:

1. To reduce weight-bearing, by relieving stress on a joint or compensating for muscle weakness.
2. To increase the base of support, that is, to improve the patient’s stability and balance.

In practice, an optimal adjustment is often a compromise between these two objectives, taking into account each person’s specific needs.

Adjustment in Low Position: Relieve, Compensate

A low adjustment of the walking aid allows for solid and effective support to:

• Reduce the load on a painful or recovering lower limb.
• Accompany movement by keeping the aid close to the body, under the center of gravity.

Usual adjustment: arm along the body, handle at wrist crease level.

Limitations: this adjustment may promote forward trunk inclination with a rollator, or lateral inclination with a cane or unilateral walker like the Wheeleo®. These compensations can hinder smooth walking.

Examples of using the low position:

• Crutch for an ankle sprain
• Walking frame after orthopedic surgery
• Hemiplegic patient in early rehabilitation

Adjustment in High Position: Stabilize, Secure

A handle positioned higher allows the walking aid to move away from the body (forward or to the side), which:

• Enlarges the base of support
• Provides active stabilization without necessarily requiring strong support
• Promotes more vertical postural control, closer to physiological walking

Recommended adjustment: handle higher than the wrist, up to elbow height if balance is the priority.

Examples of using the high position:

• Hemiparetic patient in advanced rehabilitation phase with a Wheeleo®
• Elderly person using a rollator for balance
• Hiker equipped with walking poles

What Progression Strategy to Adopt?

One of the goals of rehabilitation is often to progressively wean off the walking aid, by moving:

• From compensatory support (low position, relieving weight-bearing)
• To stabilization support (high position, promoting dynamic balance)
• Then to autonomous walking without aid

This requires regular readjustment of the handle height to follow the patient’s progress and the evolution of their abilities.

Key Points

The proper adjustment of a walking aid depends on several parameters:

• The therapeutic objectives: relieve, stabilize, or both
• The patient’s morphology
• The type of walking aid used
• The stage of rehabilitation or functional situation

Therefore, there is no universal adjustment, but a multitude of combinations to adapt.

What about You?

How do you adjust walking aids in your practice?
Have you noticed the impact of a simple height change on posture or walking fluidity?
Your feedback is welcome!