Healing from a leg injury may take a long time.
You wouldn’t want a situation where you have to be immobile as a result of your injury.
Because you have to go about doing some home activities and carrying out your duties at work. And you have to find a mobility aid that will ease your movement.
You might find yourself in a dilemma of choosing between a knee scooter or crutches. Both mobility aids are very useful. But in the case of your injury, one will serve a better purpose.
You can make the right choice after understanding the advantages and disadvantages of each mobility aid.
Table of Contents
Knee Scooters
Knee Scooters are usually made up of three or four tires, a pad to rest your knees, a control handle, and a braking system. The knee scooter is an alternative to crutches. The major difference it has from crutches is how it’s able to support your injured leg.
Knee scooters allow you to place the knee of your injured leg on the knee pad of the scooter while you use your other leg to propel yourself.
Related: Adaptive Stroller vs. Wheelchair: Here’s the Right Choice
Advantages of Knee Scooters
1) Quick Recovery from Injury
You’re likely to experience delayed recovery if you continually step on the floor with your injured leg. This is a warning you’re likely to get from your doctor. Knee scooters will help you adhere to the instructions of your doctor.
2) Less Painful to Use
Using a knee scooter will prevent you from experiencing some of the pains that result from using crutches. Some of the problems that crutches users experience are underarm pain, shoulder pain, and nerve damage if the crutches are not used properly.
Knee scooters allow you to rest the knee of the injured leg without putting extra pressure on any other part of your body. You can always adjust the height of the control handle and knee pad to suit your height.
3) Suitable for Heavy Weight Persons
Knee scooters are suitable for people with a heavyweight. Although there are bariatric crutches for people with heavyweight, using a knee scooter will be a lot easier. Watch out for the weight limit of the scooter you want to purchase when shopping for one.
4) Requires Lesser Strength to Use
Propelling your knee scooter to move requires lesser strength than using your crutches to move. This is because of the tires attached to it. If you wish to always conserve your strength, then go for a knee scooter.
Disadvantages of Knee Scooters
1) Requires Large Space
They occupy larger spaces to store and use. You may need a significant area of space to make a turn when using a knee scooter. This might be uncomfortable for you if your home or workplace has a small space with a lot of obstructions along its pathways.
2) Stressful to Transport
Transporting your knee scooter to your home, workplace, school, and grocery shop every time can become tiring. It becomes worse if you don’t have your personal vehicle and you have to rely on public vehicles. You might not want to pass through such inconveniences.
3) Requires Smooth Terrain
The tires of most knee scooters are small and are designed to move only on smooth surfaces. This might prevent you from using it outdoors and on rough terrains.
Related: Lightweight vs. Standard Wheelchair: Here’s the Right One to Choose
Crutches
Crutches are one of the simplest forms of mobility aids. They also have their advantages and disadvantages when compared with knee scooters.
Advantages of Crutches
1) Faster Movement
Crutches allow you to be swift in moving about. You can easily move in sharp bends, maneuver through obstructions on your path, and pass through rough terrains. All these will be difficult if you’re using a knee scooter.
2) Inexpensive
Crutches are cheaper than knee scooters; they are also easy to find. If you’re planning on using a mobility aid for a short period and you’re conscious of your finance, then consider buying crutches.
3) Portability
You might be searching for a mobility aid that will be easy to carry along with you. Crutches are the closest option to consider. You don’t need to pack them into a box when transporting them and you don’t have to worry about their weight when carrying them.
Disadvantage of Crutches
1) Induced Body Pain
One of the biggest challenges of using crutches is the back pain, underarm pain, and shoulder pain you will have to deal with, especially at your early stage of using them. Walking a long distance may also become tiring and unbearable.
2) Unsteadiness
Crutches require you to hold on to them for balance and support. They can’t give you complete steadiness on their own, especially when you’re using only one of your legs for support. You will always have to hold the handles.
This will also make it difficult for you to do other activities with your hands while using your crutches.
Related: Power Wheelchair vs. Scooter: Here’s the Right One to Choose
Factors that Should Influence Your Choice
There are some factors to consider when making your choice.
1) Your Daily Routine
Your daily routine has a role to play in determining which mobility aid to choose. You might find it more comfortable using a knee scooter to carry out your chores and to move around at home. You probably work from home and might not need to go outdoors often; the knee scooter should be a preferable option.
On the other hand, your job might entail walking on rough pathways and in narrow spaces. Or you may not have the resources to transport a knee scooter to your workplace every day. In this case, consider buying crutches.
2) Contribution to Your Healing Process
Consider going for a knee scooter if you’re concerned with the speedy recovery of your leg injury. Using crutches may slow down your healing process because you might have to keep stepping your injured foot on the floor while using them.
The Right Choice to Make
Purchase both a knee scooter and crutches if you’re financially capable of doing so and if you will be needing a mobility aid for a long time. This will increase your chances of doing the activities that having either of them might prevent you from doing.
Go for crutches if you must make just one choice.
Crutches will allow you to move about so many places that will be difficult to reach using a knee scooter. As a worker, student, or even a stay-at-home parent, movement is important. This is the primary aim of a mobility aid.
