To use all functions of this page, please activate cookies in your browser.
my.bionity.com
With an accout for my.bionity.com you can always see everything at a glance – and you can configure your own website and individual newsletter.
- My watch list
- My saved searches
- My saved topics
- My newsletter
Crutch
Crutches are medical tools used in the event that one's leg or legs may be injured or unable to support weight. The term, crutch, can also refer to anything used by a person as a psychological or emotional prop, or to something used as an excuse not to engage in normal life activities. Additional recommended knowledge
Medical crutchesTypesThere are several different types of medical crutches:
Emile Schlick, french mechanical engineer, patented in the USA, Oct. 23, 1917 (US 1244249) a walking stick provided at the upper end with an oblique support on which the forearm rests. It’s exactly a forearm or elbow crutch. This invention was first patented in France May 7th 1915. Then Philipp Cederstom patented a cane crutch (US Patent 2192766) looking nearly the same. Finally Lofstrand’s invention (A. R. Lofstrand, Jr., who patented them in 1945) consists of an adjustable length crutch but in the USA forearm crutches are also sometimes referred to as Lofstrands ,[1] Canadian crutches (since they are commonly used in Canada), elbow crutches or even Walk Easies (Walk Easy is a brand name).
Information on useSeveral different gait patterns are possible, and the user chooses which one to use depending on the reason the crutches are needed. For example, a person with a leg injury generally performs a "swing-to" gait: he lifts the injured leg, places both crutches in front of himself, and then swings his uninjured leg to meet the crutches. Other gaits are used when both legs are equally affected by some disability, or when the injured leg is partially weight-bearing.[2] Crutch is also used as a verb to refer to the use of crutches to travel somewhere. For example: "I am going to crutch to the store," or "I will be crutching over to your place." The word "crutch" can refer to an object that is a weakness, that the bearer requires in order to function (metaphorically) Example: Can sexuality be used as a social crutch?[3] Materials
References |
|
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Crutch". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia. |