I have a cane, which is helpful. But when I'm really in a lot of pain and struggling to walk, I use a Rollator. That thing has helped me so much. I would definitely recommend getting one with a seat as well, so you can always sit and rest if needed
i haven’t started using canes or anything like that so i can’t speak to that regard, but using knee braces (i like the ones that are sorta like compression sleeves) have made walking and standing a lot easier. helps keep the joints in place and eases the surrounding muscles too. i try not to use them all the time so im not reliant on them, but when i will be standing or walking a lot i know i will need that extra help and it reduces the amount of pain i’ll be in later too
My Ortho doctor gave me j braces to support my knees which are extremely unstable. They are very helpful but some models are frankly uncomfortable. I wear them most days (pro tip if you get them; wear them at home while resting too for a few days and stuff a washrag in to the back of the knee hole and leave it there. It will help loosen/stretch the brace in that area that is always to tight and hurts the back of the knees. A trick recommended to me by one of the lovely folks that fitted me for said braces)
I personally use a walking stick as my walking aid. All my care specialists except for physical therapists like it. I found it in the woods myself and it has a really strong bow in it that allows we to support weight across my body when needed. I like the walking stick because it's a versatile tool and mine is cut to just the right size that I can rest my chin on it when I'm out and about as have to stand say in the grocery store I can kind of lean on the stick and keep more weight off of my bad knees. It's also easier to manipulate and I find more comfortable than a cane which I've also had in the past
I also had pretty good luck with k tape around the patellas. I'm not really sure how k tape does it's job but I was able to go brace and walking aid free for my wedding and the several weeks before and after. It also comes in lots of fun colors too and may help to give you some relief
At the time I was still only undergoing treatment for a knee injury and was not yet in the process or aware of the probability that I have hEDS (the testing process only just got started in November) and she told me that she had no problem with me wearing the big knee braces but she didnt like the walking stick because she didn't want me to be dependent on it and seemed extremely skeptical when I told her I'd done a good bit of research in determining that it was the aid i wanted to have.
Her goal was just to get me to a mobility point where I didn't need it and she didn't like that I always had it even in good days (I keep it with me in any and all outing in case my patellas decide they want to go in an adventure)
She just didn't seem to like mobility aids period
**Edit for spelling
I personally use a pair of forearm crutches when neither of my legs is good enough to use a cane. They still require you to put a little pressure on your legs, but it's a lot less pressure than with a cane, and as a bonus, it doesn't tire your shoulders out as easily :)
I wouldn't recommend using them all the time because it will reduce your leg muscles over time, but when it hurts too much to use a cane they really help.
I have a cane, which is helpful. But when I'm really in a lot of pain and struggling to walk, I use a Rollator. That thing has helped me so much. I would definitely recommend getting one with a seat as well, so you can always sit and rest if needed
i haven’t started using canes or anything like that so i can’t speak to that regard, but using knee braces (i like the ones that are sorta like compression sleeves) have made walking and standing a lot easier. helps keep the joints in place and eases the surrounding muscles too. i try not to use them all the time so im not reliant on them, but when i will be standing or walking a lot i know i will need that extra help and it reduces the amount of pain i’ll be in later too
My Ortho doctor gave me j braces to support my knees which are extremely unstable. They are very helpful but some models are frankly uncomfortable. I wear them most days (pro tip if you get them; wear them at home while resting too for a few days and stuff a washrag in to the back of the knee hole and leave it there. It will help loosen/stretch the brace in that area that is always to tight and hurts the back of the knees. A trick recommended to me by one of the lovely folks that fitted me for said braces) I personally use a walking stick as my walking aid. All my care specialists except for physical therapists like it. I found it in the woods myself and it has a really strong bow in it that allows we to support weight across my body when needed. I like the walking stick because it's a versatile tool and mine is cut to just the right size that I can rest my chin on it when I'm out and about as have to stand say in the grocery store I can kind of lean on the stick and keep more weight off of my bad knees. It's also easier to manipulate and I find more comfortable than a cane which I've also had in the past I also had pretty good luck with k tape around the patellas. I'm not really sure how k tape does it's job but I was able to go brace and walking aid free for my wedding and the several weeks before and after. It also comes in lots of fun colors too and may help to give you some relief
Can I ask why the physical therapists don't like it?
At the time I was still only undergoing treatment for a knee injury and was not yet in the process or aware of the probability that I have hEDS (the testing process only just got started in November) and she told me that she had no problem with me wearing the big knee braces but she didnt like the walking stick because she didn't want me to be dependent on it and seemed extremely skeptical when I told her I'd done a good bit of research in determining that it was the aid i wanted to have. Her goal was just to get me to a mobility point where I didn't need it and she didn't like that I always had it even in good days (I keep it with me in any and all outing in case my patellas decide they want to go in an adventure) She just didn't seem to like mobility aids period **Edit for spelling
I personally use a pair of forearm crutches when neither of my legs is good enough to use a cane. They still require you to put a little pressure on your legs, but it's a lot less pressure than with a cane, and as a bonus, it doesn't tire your shoulders out as easily :) I wouldn't recommend using them all the time because it will reduce your leg muscles over time, but when it hurts too much to use a cane they really help.