Cruciate ligaments :

Crutches - - Posted by Bballbaybee2110 (Bballbaybee2110), 21 July 2004

Does anyone out there have any ideas on what to stick on underarm crutches so they dont cause as much pain, rubbing and rash? Thanks.
Posted by Gab (Gab), 22 July 2004

Well first of all you do know that you're not supposed to put them directly on your underarms right?? They are supposed to rest on your side and use your arms to keep them from moving. Otherwise, you risk damaging nerves in your underarms.

That being said, I was on crutches for 8 weeks after my ACL tear (non weight-bearing for the first 2) and noticed that the rash was worse when there was a lot of humidity outside. I would make sure to wear T-shirts and avoid putting the skin directly in contact with the crutches. Still I had some rashes on both my side and inside of my biceps but there wasn't really anything I could do at all.

The good news is that the marks disappear fairly quick after you start walking again
Posted by Bballbaybee2110 (Bballbaybee2110), 22 July 2004

Gab,
Haha yes i do know that you arent supposed to put them directly under your arm pits, but i will keep in mind that i should wear t shirts instead of tank tops b/c of the direct contact. Thanks for the info!


If anyone else out there has an info let me know please!!
Posted by allstardiva2005 (allstardiva2005), 23 July 2004

yeah i agree w/ gab- i kinda got like a callous (sp?) where the crutches rubbed against my body, but after like 3-4 days it doesn't hurt...at least that was my case...

xoxo- Christy
Posted by jagreggsr (jagreggsr), 29 July 2004

Bballbaybee...

The crutches should be around 3 fingers width from your underarms... applying pressure and weight bearing on your underarms could cause nerve damage...

As for the padding, I used a combination of things, such as soft cotton to silk wraps on the pads... it's also very inportant to keep the pads clean on the underarm pads as well as the hand pads...

An alternative will be the forearm crutches... I'm thinking about using them for my next surgery (Fulkerson / TTT)

Regards,


Jim
Posted by cat (cat), 29 July 2004

Check these out. They are called crutch muffins. I thought they were an awesome way to snazz up one's crutches, plus they have padding for under the arms.


You can get them from http://www.brokenbeauties.com/index.html

cat

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