A few ankle surgeries back, it was suggested that I look into Smart Crutches. I had seen them mentioned in EDS groups and I’ve got a zebra sister with them that loved them. I knew my hips and knees were not taking the knee scooter well and I needed to be a lot more mobile than it provided through the house. When I first looked at them several years back, they had run out of stock and I had kind of forgotten about them as my mind was solely focused on day by day tasks. But shortly before one of the most recent surgeries one of the ad’s popped up on Facebook for a sale and I started looking back into them again. This was way back at the beginning of the year, so I’ve had several months under my belt before typing anything up about my experiences with them.
So What ARE Smart Crutches Anyway?
Smart Crutches are forearm crutches that are designed to better distribute your weight and therefore allow you to use them to get around for longer distances without pain or discomfort. For us Zebras with Ehlers-Danlos, it means it also means less subluxations and dislocations than regular crutches or knee scooters.
In their FAQ’s, they have an infographic that talks about specific needs for EDS patients such as putting more weight along the forearm rather than the shoulders, elbows, hands, and wrists. They were also designed to help us maintain a proper posture while using them rather than leaning over, again putting less stress on our joints. To help them last as long as possible, they also have replacement parts so you don’t have to buy a whole new set when one part breaks or wears out.
Features Listed On The Website:
- Ergonomically designed grips provide natural wrist angle and even load across palm.
- 15° to 90° forearm platform settings to meet personal comfort and mobility requirements.
- Locking spline allows for secure rotational angle settings.
- 3-point forearm length settings for additional customization.
- 10-position push-pin height adjustment (Range between sizes: 4′ 8″ to 6′ 7″).
- Hourglass-shaped foot design maximizes surface contact.
- Shock absorption built into the design of the specialized ferrule and cuff memory foam.
Benefits Listed On Their Website:
- Transfer of weight to forearm results in less fatigue and injury prevention.
- Less pressure on hands reduces pain, discomfort or blistering.
- Mitigates the potential of pinched or damaged nerves.
- Improves posture and gait resulting in less pain or fatigue.
- Allows freedom of hands while still providing support.
- Easier to navigate while ascending or descending stairs.
- 10 fashion colors to suit personal style.
My Experience Ordering From Them
I’m not often impressed by a company. Normally, it’s either smooth running or I’m disappointed. Impressed? Rarely. This company however?!
So first off, they have a really easy to understand sizing chart. There’s a lot of adjusting that can happen with them, so there’s not a need to choose between so many sizes that it’s intimidating.
They also have different feet to purchase for them to best suit your needs. Ones for grip in the ice, non-slip, and even long distance and hiking.
Right: Tornado AIR feet for non-slip
But I had questions that couldn’t be answered about what feet I should get specifically because of needing them to hopefully go long distance if needed on uneven ground WHILE having EDS as a complication. I tried looking at reviews on the site and videos on YouTube, but they weren’t specific enough for me to be confident in my order…so I had the goad of emailing customer service. To my surprise, they had a text option, so I figured I would give that a shot. I was honestly expecting some kind of automated service to go through. It’s been a while, but I sent something along the lines of “Hi, I was interested in purchasing a pair of SmartCrutches, but I have some questions about using different feet because of having EDS.”
Imagine my shock when I get a text from a different number from one of their employees from their personal cell! Not only did someone get back to me, this gentleman ALSO HAD EDS!!! They specifically got one of their EDS people to get back to me because I mentioned it in my text! He asked all sorts of questions about which joints were bad, how much I can lift, how often my shoulders dislocated, my confidence in my shoulders. We were able to discuss it with an intimate understanding that I didn’t have to try and explain to someone without it that was only trying to make sales. He was very honest that either of the spring loaded ones can take more strength and muscle control while the Tornado ones had a much larger base as well as his personal experience with them.
I ended up getting both the TornadoAIR and the Tripod ones. I figured I could use the Tornado ones to start, and Tripod ones for when I want to try and do a nature trail walk. They also had a sale running at the time, so it ended up being cheaper if I got them both at the same time as the crutches rather than at a later date.
But Do They Work?
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THEM! ***
That being said, I want to be very clear about my experience with them because I wasn’t so excited the first week after they arrived.
They do not feel like normal crutches at all when I first tried them. The stock feet have a bending point to allow for a lot of smooth movement compensation. But when you go from very rigid support to something that wiggles? It was a bit unsettling to put my full weight on them.
I also had trouble with how the instructions said to set the height. The instructions themselves were easy to follow, but it really didn’t feel right. I tried moving the height and switching between the 3 different angles for the arm braces. I honestly went into tears several times because I had initially thought I made the biggest mistake purchase ever. I had just two weeks till my next surgery and I couldn’t seem to use the crutches I just ordered.
Thankfully, I’ve got a few people that have always been hugely supportive. They convinced me that instead of jumping into trying to put my full weight only the crutches, why don’t I just use them as kind of a cane. See if I can get my body to slowly adjust.
My other half also set the crutches back to where the instructions said to put the height to and insist I learn to at least use them as suggested first. I was quite grumpy about it…but it was really the best approach to take.
We’d go for short walks, just under a mile just using them as very light support. They held maybe 50% of my weight at most during this time. By the end of a week, I was finding myself a lot more confident on them and would do the occasional long hop just because it was kinda fun.
The second week, I was able to start putting my full weight on them for part of the distance we were walking. Some of it was simply getting used to how I had to shift a bit of my center of balance. Some of it was a bit of muscle training. Despite my arms being fairly muscled, I was asking them to do things they weren’t used to.
They became my best friends on days it was too painful to put weight down on my foot. I could go up the ramp leading to my front door. I could slowly go up and down stairs at work. I could move in smaller spaces than what a knee scooter allowed. They took up less storage space. The only downside was that OMG they were EXHAUSTING! Part of it, I’m sure was the fact that I’ve not been hugely mobile for several years and my whole body was protesting the fact I was pushing it.
So I still had to plan for only taking short trips on them, but they have been a major game changer. I’ve not dislocated my shoulder on them. The nerves in my arms never got angry from being pinched. My elbows and wrists didn’t dislocate either. Sometimes my hands would get tired, but nowhere near the speed at which they’d protest using a walker or regular crutches.
I don’t need them nearly as often as of late. However, just the other day I subluxed my knee and I can’t tell you how happy I am that I had these available. It reminded me just how much they gave back to me. So today, I grabbed one of my dearest friend and convinced him to take a handful of impromptu pictures to show that yes…a zebra can absolutely use them and put their full weight on them as long as they’ve got some upper arm strength.
They’re not a simple fix, so just don’t go into it thinking that you can pick them up and run marathons straight out of the box. They’re incredible, but they’ve still got a learning curve. But I absolutely recommend getting a pair for us EDS folks or anyone that is going to need long term crutches. Their representative was also quite accurate when he told me the spring loaded ones are harder on the shoulders. So if you’re not confident in your shoulders, stick with the Tornado or stock feet, at least to start out.
***I am in no way sponsored by the folks at SmartCrutchUSA or have been given any compensation for my positive statements. This is simply an honest review of the product and how it’s changed my life.
