Crutches haven't changed in the last 1000 years? Not so! For instance:
1. They did a split upright, allowing a centered horizontal handgrip to be placed between them. Old-old-school crutches just had you grip the shaft, and new-0ld-school crutches just made a handle stick out from the side of the single shaft.
2. They made them from lightweight materials instead of wood.
3. Rubber tips for traction.
4. Adjustable for both height and arm-length.
5. You have to buy them instead of just cutting them out of the closest tree. #freedomleg
DAMN! I would have used something like this last year.
I had a rare condition of a stress fracture on my metatarsal bones of my foot last year.
A stress fracture is worse than a regular fracture in the fact that it's not fully broken. While a fully broken bone might take 2 ~ 3 months to heal, a stress fracture might take 9 ~ 12 months. Because a stress fracture flexes it can create a soft joint of soft bone. At that point, the only option is to cut the bone out and graft another piece in.
Not a good idea.
So I had to wear an ankle/leg boot for nearly a year, crutches and use a bone regenerator every night.
This would have made it so much easier.
Boots are heavy on the knee joints, hot and sweatty, and unbalance your hips which adds to back pain.
While this might still be hard on your hips, the knee saving and weight off-loading on your foot might be more than a welcome relief.
I hope I never have to use one... but is a good solution anyways. #freedomleg
I saw the post on medgadget last week. It looks like a neat idea, but you've got to strap yourself into this rig very tightly. Chafing anyone? It looks fine for walking around, and who likes crutches, anyway, right? Yet, if you have to go between periods of moving around and periods when you're seated or lying down, crutches may be easier. Crutches are also helpful for leverage as you're standing up, moving around while seated, or reaching for things. As much as I like the new-fangled, crutches meet the need, and are simple and cheap. I guess it's nice to have another option to crutches, regardless, though. #freedomleg
@Noobs-R-Us: Your thigh and the rest of your leg are supplied blood by the femoral artery which is deeply buried next to the bone. It takes an incredible amount of pressure to cut off circulation from this artery, much more than you could achieve with this wide cuff. #freedomleg
Looks like the strap would slowly and uncomfortably creep up towards your crotch. Whenever I try that on other people, it always ends poorly. #freedomleg
@GitEmSteveDave_OverSleptThisMo...: Well, we might. But the reality is the government wouldn't waste it on me. I'd be nowhere near as useful as a rebuilt astronaut. if they rebuilt me all they would get was a really strong, really fast financial analyst. #freedomleg
@GitEmSteveDave_OverSleptThisMo...: Ummm.... it says here, in a letter from his health insurance company... "Six million dollar operation to rebuild patient not covered due to pre-existing condition." What the... massive blunt force trauma, internal bleeding and contusions was pre-existing? Huh... wait... it says here they determined he had congenital "Experimental Aircraft Test Accident Syndrome" ...his body just spontaneously sustains six million dollars-worth of damage. Weird. Apparently it was merely a coincidence that he was in that jet crash at the time his syndrome symptoms kicked in. #freedomleg
Being on crutches is miserable. I spent the first half of my freshman year of college on them. AWFUL. I'm probably going to have an ankle fusion in a few years, and I was miserable thinking about being on crutches while it healed. This makes me think surviving it might be a little easier. #freedomleg
Those straps would have to be pretty tightly wrapped around your thigh to support half of your body weight. I could imagine you would slip out of them and then accidentally put weight on your injured leg when it hits the ground. Or, if they are too tight, they might not be super comfortable for extended periods of time. Of course, having a crutch under your arm sucks for extended periods of time as well. #freedomleg
It definitely looks awkward and uncomfortable, but perhaps less so than a normal crutch and it certainly improves mobility. It is surprising that it has taken so long for anyone to come up with a simple hands-free redesign for the crutch - it's not like this involves space age materials or microprocessors or anything. #freedomleg
@weatherman: I think part of the reason is that crutches are very simple and extremely effective in their current state and there hasn't been much drive to make them better. For what they do, they are cheap and and get the job done. #freedomleg
@PurpleMonkeyDishwasher: certainly true, and they can be made from readily accessible materials so they're great for developing countries. But in places with advanced medical care, like Canada, it seems to me it's a long time coming to find something better. #freedomleg
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1. They did a split upright, allowing a centered horizontal handgrip to be placed between them. Old-old-school crutches just had you grip the shaft, and new-0ld-school crutches just made a handle stick out from the side of the single shaft.
2. They made them from lightweight materials instead of wood.
3. Rubber tips for traction.
4. Adjustable for both height and arm-length.
5. You have to buy them instead of just cutting them out of the closest tree. #freedomleg
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Sure, if you don't mind eating dirt. #freedomleg
11/10/09
I had a rare condition of a stress fracture on my metatarsal bones of my foot last year.
A stress fracture is worse than a regular fracture in the fact that it's not fully broken. While a fully broken bone might take 2 ~ 3 months to heal, a stress fracture might take 9 ~ 12 months. Because a stress fracture flexes it can create a soft joint of soft bone. At that point, the only option is to cut the bone out and graft another piece in.
Not a good idea.
So I had to wear an ankle/leg boot for nearly a year, crutches and use a bone regenerator every night.
This would have made it so much easier.
Boots are heavy on the knee joints, hot and sweatty, and unbalance your hips which adds to back pain.
While this might still be hard on your hips, the knee saving and weight off-loading on your foot might be more than a welcome relief.
I hope I never have to use one... but is a good solution anyways. #freedomleg
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Seriously though, this thing will cut off the circulation in your thigh no? Your foot will slowly die, rot and fall off.
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