# How to walk down stairs **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 11, 2008, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-walk-down-stairs/472146 "2008-11-11T02:32:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-walk-down-stairs/472146/21 "2008-11-12T22:06:06Z")
Ouch ouch ouch! The first thing I thought of when I read the OP was the giant escalator at the train station I take every day to work. Every time I’m scaling it, I think, what if I fall? I would never stop! :eek: I am so sorry to hear you hurt yourself, but I have to admit the idea of doing anything at a snail’s pace makes me smile (I like snails.) I hope your pain can be channeled into some wicked awesome artwork. _sending healing thoughts_ ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2008, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-walk-down-stairs/472146/22 "2008-11-13T02:00:20Z")
> [@DogMom](#): > > \ > Ow ow ow ow ow. > > You have my sympathies. > > From my recently-acquired expertise in Walking With A Cane: > Gregory House, MD does it wrong. > > Cane goes in the opposite hand from the injured foot, so that your weight is partially redistributed across your body. You will be convinced that it doesn’t help for at least a week. Trust me, it makes a **huge** difference. > > Don’t have any hugs or kisses for ya, since I’m a married Doggy, but tell ya what, I’ll give you my best Concerned Wrinkly Forehead, how’s that? Really? when I am on my cane instead of crutches or in the chair, I find that it is best used on the same side, as it ends up with most of my weight beng supported by the cane and not resting on my poor abused foot … ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2008, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-walk-down-stairs/472146/23 "2008-11-13T02:09:14Z")
You broke \*both \*feet??! Holy crap. Lots of hugs and kisses from me! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2008, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-walk-down-stairs/472146/24 "2008-11-13T03:51:05Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > You broke \*both \*feet??! Holy crap. Lots of hugs and kisses from me! Thank you so much! You can hug me and kiss me anywhere you like, as long as you leave my feet the fuck alone. OK, kiss me feet, but BE GENTLE! Huh… My right foot doesn’t even hurt much at all now. When I walk, there is no pain, but I feel something moving around. Weird and freaky. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2008, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-walk-down-stairs/472146/25 "2008-11-13T04:02:44Z")
> [@purple\_haze](#): > > Be careful with the oral sex - won’t it make your toes curl? Ouchie! That’s risk I’m willing to take. For the team, you understand. I’m nothing if not altruistic. I wonder if it would be counterproductive if my GF dressed up in a nurse uniform. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2008, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-walk-down-stairs/472146/26 "2008-11-13T15:28:53Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Thank you so much! You can hug me and kiss me anywhere you like, as long as you leave my feet the fuck alone. > > OK, kiss me feet, but BE GENTLE! > > Huh… My right foot doesn’t even hurt much at all now. When I walk, there is no pain, but I feel something moving around. Weird and freaky. What an absolutely godawful post-birthday present. If I had known, I would have sent you aromatic candles, or something. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2008, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-walk-down-stairs/472146/27 "2008-11-13T15:49:34Z")
Can I jump in here to say how much I feel your pain? My late wife (AKA Unluckiest Woman EVER) was prone to seizures near the end of her life. On one particular occasion she had a seizure next to the basement stairs (it’s unclear if she was headed downstairs or not). Yep you guessed it… she seized up and tumbled down the stairs into a cinder-block wall in our basement. Shattered both of her ankles. She was in a wheel chair for six months. Good Times. oh, and further proof that she was the unluckiest person ever: she was prone to nightmares. One night in particular she was thrashing about and managed to swing her arm and catch the cord to the alarm clock, yanking it off the night stand and slamming it into her face. That gave her a nice black eye and dandy little cut underneath it. I have no doubt people thought I beat her or something. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2008, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-walk-down-stairs/472146/28 "2008-11-13T16:00:33Z")
Poor tdn! ((Friendly hug)) (another hug) ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2008, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-walk-down-stairs/472146/29 "2008-11-13T17:28:52Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Thank you so much! You can hug me and kiss me anywhere you like, as long as you leave my feet the fuck alone. > > OK, kiss me feet, but BE GENTLE! > > Huh… My right foot doesn’t even hurt much at all now. When I walk, there is no pain, but I feel something moving around. Weird and freaky. Hm, get them to prescribe cam walkers, those funny boots. Unless the bones are damaged enough to require casting, keeping them rigid will help. I use camwalkers for my pseudogout, once the flare has gone down past sheet vomit inducing pain, the cams help me walk buy keeping the calcium crystals in the joints from grinding by immobilizing the feet. If you can promote a prescription for indomethicin, it is way better than motrin for bone related pain and inflammation. ---
**Author:** ![DiggitCamara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@DiggitCamara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiggitCamara)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2008, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-walk-down-stairs/472146/30 "2008-11-13T18:13:13Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Once again, thank you all for the advice, hugs, and stories. > > I’m feeling amazingly better today, even though I’m walking at a snail’s pace. My plan was to grab a wheelchair when I got into work, but the idea holds no appeal to me. I’m fine with just a cane. > > I’m getting a huge amount of sympathy, even from complete strangers. And almost everyone asked me how it happened. The truth has become increasingly dull and repetitive, so I’ve taken to embellishing the story a bit. The latest version includes five knife-wielding terrorists. Reminds me of a short story written by [Ephraim Kishon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephraim_Kishon). He stepped out of his house, stumbled on some construction work and had to wear a cast. Fortunately (for him) the [Six Day War](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_day_war) broke out and immediately everyone around him associated the war with his injury. Hilarity ensued. Get well soon! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-walk-down-stairs/472146.md?page=1)