{"id":12267,"date":"2025-06-06T11:04:18","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T09:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wheeleo.eu\/height-adjustment-of-walking-aids-a-key-factor-in-effectiveness\/"},"modified":"2025-06-19T12:00:20","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T10:00:20","slug":"height-adjustment-of-walking-aids-a-key-factor-in-effectiveness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wheeleo.eu\/en\/height-adjustment-of-walking-aids-a-key-factor-in-effectiveness\/","title":{"rendered":"Height Adjustment of Walking Aids: a Key Factor in Effectiveness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Impact du r\u00e9glage de la hauteur d&#039;une aide \u00e0 la mobilit\u00e9\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6AW7ZNSuBV0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n<p>In the video above, we observe a demonstration with three different walking aids: a Weeleo\u00ae one-handed walker, a rollator, and a cane. For each tool, two handle heights are tested: a low position and a high position. <\/p>\n\n<p>This demonstration highlights an often underestimated point: <strong>the proper height adjustment of a walking aid<\/strong> determines its effectiveness&#8230; and the patient&#8217;s safety.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why Adjust the Height of a Walking Aid?<\/h2>\n\n<p>Walking aids have two main functions:<\/p>\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>To reduce weight-bearing<\/strong>, by relieving stress on a joint or compensating for muscle weakness.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>To increase the base of support<\/strong>, that is, to improve the patient&#8217;s stability and balance.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<p>In practice, an <strong>optimal adjustment<\/strong> is often a <strong>compromise between these two objectives<\/strong>, taking into account each person&#8217;s specific needs.<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Adjustment in <strong>Low Position<\/strong>: Relieve, Compensate<\/h2>\n\n<p>A low adjustment of the walking aid allows for solid and effective support to:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Reduce the load on a painful or recovering lower limb.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Accompany movement by keeping the aid close to the body, under the center of gravity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p><strong>Usual adjustment:<\/strong> arm along the body, handle at wrist crease level.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Limitations:<\/strong> this adjustment may promote <strong>forward trunk inclination<\/strong> with a rollator, or <strong>lateral inclination<\/strong> with a cane or unilateral walker like the Wheeleo\u00ae. These compensations can hinder smooth walking. <\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Examples of using the low position:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Crutch for an ankle sprain<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Walking frame after orthopedic surgery<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hemiplegic patient in early rehabilitation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Adjustment in <strong>High Position<\/strong>: Stabilize, Secure<\/h2>\n\n<p>A handle positioned higher allows the walking aid to move away from the body (forward or to the side), which:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Enlarges the base of support<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Provides <strong>active stabilization<\/strong> without necessarily requiring strong support<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Promotes more vertical postural control, closer to physiological walking<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p><strong>Recommended adjustment:<\/strong> handle higher than the wrist, up to elbow height if balance is the priority.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Examples of using the high position:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Hemiparetic patient in advanced rehabilitation phase with a Wheeleo\u00ae<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Elderly person using a rollator for balance<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hiker equipped with walking poles<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Progression Strategy to Adopt?<\/h2>\n\n<p>One of the goals of rehabilitation is often to <strong>progressively wean off the walking aid<\/strong>, by moving:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>From compensatory support (low position, relieving weight-bearing)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To stabilization support (high position, promoting dynamic balance)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Then to autonomous walking without aid<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>This requires <strong>regular readjustment<\/strong> of the handle height to follow the patient&#8217;s progress and the evolution of their abilities.<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key Points<\/h2>\n\n<p>The proper adjustment of a walking aid depends on several parameters:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>therapeutic objectives<\/strong>: relieve, stabilize, or both<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The patient&#8217;s <strong>morphology<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>type of walking aid<\/strong> used<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>stage of rehabilitation<\/strong> or functional situation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>Therefore, there is <strong>no universal adjustment<\/strong>, but a multitude of combinations to adapt.<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What about You?<\/h2>\n\n<p>How do you adjust walking aids in your practice?<br\/>Have you noticed the impact of a simple height change on posture or walking fluidity?<br\/>Your feedback is welcome!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the video above, we observe a demonstration with three different walking aids: a Weeleo\u00ae 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&#8230; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12260,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[109],"tags":[],"profils-type":[],"expertise":[],"situation":[285,288],"profils-et-pathologies":[],"class_list":["post-12267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","situation-home-care","situation-rehabilitation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wheeleo.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wheeleo.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wheeleo.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wheeleo.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wheeleo.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12267"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.wheeleo.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12267\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12268,"href":"https:\/\/www.wheeleo.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12267\/revisions\/12268"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wheeleo.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wheeleo.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wheeleo.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wheeleo.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12267"},{"taxonomy":"profils-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wheeleo.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profils-type?post=12267"},{"taxonomy":"expertise","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wheeleo.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/expertise?post=12267"},{"taxonomy":"situation","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wheeleo.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/situation?post=12267"},{"taxonomy":"profils-et-pathologies","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wheeleo.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profils-et-pathologies?post=12267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}