So through one adventure and another, I have to use a walker now. My biggest problem is that I fall a lot. And I can’t lift myself off the ground with a cane. So my generous friend bought me a brand new walker. With wheels and everything.
But the only brakes seem to be the ones on the handlebars. So I’m afraid that it I fall and am unable to secure the wheels, getting up will be more like a Laurel and Hardy gag than actual uprighting myself.
I can’t seem to find one with that kind of stabilization as an option. Can anyone suggest where I might find a thing like this?
Maybe my limited experience is weird, but I thought walker handbrakes were “squeeze to release”, so if you fall down (or aren’t gripping the grips for any reason), the brakes would be safely set.
IANA expert, although I’ve assisted folks with them. “Squeeze to release” would mean infirm folks with bad grip strength would need to hold the brakes released all the time they’re moving. I do not think they work that way.
Although this might be a less than ideal solution, if you fell, couldn’t you tip the walker back until you could reach the brake, then get it upright and use.
I can see myself needing a walker one of these days and I wonder that myself. Although I rarely fall.
I’ve seen ones that have a feature that keeps them from rolling if you’re pushing (or pulling, if you’re on the ground) down on the back legs. I’m glad you’ve survived your adventures and rejoined us!
Retired nurse here, who herself used a walker for a good while.
The best, safest and most likely to succeed way for you to be able to get up doesn’t likely depend on getting a certain type of walker or different kind of brakes on your rolling walker.
The best thing for you to do is ask your primary care doctor for a referral to a physical therapist who will evaluate your needs and over a few sessions teach you how to safely get up if you fall when you are alone and also advise on the best style of walker for you and train you on how to use it. They are professionals at both things and there are reasons why it takes at a minimum a master’s level of education to be a PT (most have a doctorate).
After I had a stroke where my right arm and leg were practically useless I went in for 3 weeks of “Intensive Rehab”. 1.5 hours a day, 6 days a week of PT and 1.5 hours a day, 6 days a week of OT and 30 min of OT on Sundays. At some point I asked the PT if we could work on how I can get up from the floor and she agreed after she spent some time thinking on it.
Oh, and I’m much better now. Maybe not 100% but certainly mostly at least 90%.
@BippityBoppityBoo probably has the best advise but how about if you put the walker on it’s side? It can’t roll & then is about coffee table height; is that enough for you to get up & are you flexible enough to bend a bit to stand it upright once you are standing?
If you can reach the handle bars and the brake handles pull down on the brake handles and it should lock the brakes on. The brakes will be on on only two of the wheels so you will need to be careful.
My mom had a walker that you could lock the brakes on. Instead of squeezing the brakes, you push down on them. It ‘clicks’ and locks in. Squeeze back up, and it unlocks them
I would think that you could reach up from the ground and pull down on them to lock them in.
Walker user here On standard rollators, you pull down on the brakes to lock them, so you should be able to reach up and engage the locks. However, I second the notion of being trained by a physical or occupational therapist to return to a standing position on your own first. Also, work with PT/OT on walking methods, to reduce your risk of falling as much as possible. Keeping a clear path, or asking for assistance to clear a path, is vital.
Rollators aren’t meant to be leaned on heavily. It’s important to keep walking as upright as possible, and better for your body. It can help to think of a walker as two canes, rather than a platform that takes full body weight. Even though my rollator has a seat and can hold my weight, when I’m walking I don’t lean my full weight on it. I learned this in PT and OT.
There are walkers with different, higher arm/handle configurations for those that need more support - those brakes are much higher from the ground.
I was using a walker about 15 years ago, for about 6 months. I borrowed it from a relative who’d had an earlier accident. It was a bit different than squeeze to release, but worked in similar fashion such that the default was brakes engaged.
The brake levers were essentially length-wise halved cylinders that fit over the arm parts of the walker. So to release the brakes, you only had to put weight on the handle area, pushing the levers down over the handle tube material. This required very little force. Given most of the time someone needing a walker will need to put weight on it, it worked pretty well and no hand strength wasted in squeezing.
On standard rollators, you pull down on the brakes to lock them, so you should be able to reach up and engage the locks. However, I second the notion of being trained by a physical or occupational therapist to return to a standing position on your own first. Also, work with PT/OT on walking methods, to reduce your risk of falling as much as possible. Keeping a clear path, or asking for assistance to clear a path, is vital.