Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsLeading FootAssistive DevicesSafety TipsStrength ExercisesAssisting Someone
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Leading Foot
Assistive Devices
Safety Tips
Strength Exercises
Assisting Someone
To avoid falling while going up or down stairs after an injury or foot surgery, it is important to learn the correct techniques for negotiating steps. A big part of this is leading with the correct foot. Which one you should choose depends on the direction you are moving and the foot that is affected.
Learning to climb stairs safely is often part of physical therapy (PT) for injuries and surgical recoveries, such as afterhip replacementorknee replacement surgery. But you will need to know how to do this whether PT has been prescribed to you or not so that you both protect your foot and avoid falls.
This article covers why it’s important to lead with certain feet when climbing the stairs, how to navigate stairs with an assistive device like a cane, and other safety tips. It also discusses exercises often recommended to strengthen the muscles involved in stair climbing and how best to help someone else go up and down a flight.
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How to Find a Physical Therapist
Leading With the Correct Foot
You should lead with your stronger leg to walk up the stairs and your weaker leg to walk down.
This may take some thinking at first, but should become automatic with time.
To help people remember which foot to lead with when ascending or descending stairs,orthopedic surgeonsandphysical therapistsoften teach patients the phrase “up with the good, down with the bad.”
Using Assistive Devices
Having a banister or handrail makes navigating the stairs all the easier. If you don’t have one and can’t afford to install one, you may need an assistive device like acaneorcrutchto provide you greater balance.
To use a cane or crutch correctly when going up stairs:
To go down stairs:
If you’re using awalker, you can still negotiate stairs as long as you have a handrail. To do so:
If you are elderly and live alone, consider investing in amedical alert devicein case of a fall.
Stair-Climbing Safety Tips
There are other precautions you should take when learning to walk up and down stairs while healing. Among the primary concerns is to avoid slips and falls.
You should also check the height of a step if approaching the stairs for the first time. While standard risers are around 7 inches (18 centimeters) tall, some are higher and may cause problems if you can’t lift your leg high enough or lower your leg steadily enough.
The same applies to the depth of the step. If you can’t place your entire foot on a step with at least an inch or two to spare, navigating the stairs can be dicey. It may force you to tilt your ankle or walk on the ball of your foot, both of which can cause you to slip and fall.
You can’t modify steps, of course. But being aware of these hazards can remind you that you need to be extra careful when on them.
You might also consider temporarily relocating your sleeping quarters to the first floor or moving items you use throughout the day there so that you are only going up and down the stairs once a day. And remember—if help is available, use it when you need it.
Even if you are relatively healthy, it helps to have someone assist you for a few days until you are confident enough to navigate the stairs on your own.
Strengthening Exercises
If you have difficulty with stairs, your physical therapist can teach you exercises that strengthen the “anti-gravity” muscles that keep you upright and stable as you navigate inclines or declines. These exercises can be done during physical therapy as part of a home exercise routine:
Talk to your physical therapist about how often to do the exercises so as not to overdo it. If you overwork the leg muscles, you may end up being more, rather than less, wobbly.
If the stairs are polished or slick, you can purchase temporary adhesive floor treads to provide more traction or wear gripper socks with rubber treads. Gripper socks can even help if you have a synthetic runner as the carpet fibers can sometimes be slick.
Finally, if you’ve undergone surgery, check with your orthopedic surgeon before embarking on any exercise plan. As eager as you may be to heal quickly, more is not always better.
Assisting an Injured Friend
If you are helping an injured friend or family member walk up or down the stairs, it is important to position your body correctly to provide maximum support with minimal interference. As a rule of thumb, you should never walk alongside them or act as a human crutch. Doing so not only crowds them in but makes it difficult to intervene if they stumble or fall.
2 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Arthritis Foundation.How to safely climb stairs.American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. OrthoInfo.How to use crutches, canes, and walkers.Additional ReadingAmerican Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS).Preventing falls among the elderly.Rosemont, IL: AAOSWarwick H, George A, Howell C, et al.Immediate physical therapy following total joint arthroplasty: Barriers and impact on short-term outcomes.Advances in Orthoped. 2019;2019:6051476. doi:10.1155/2019/6051476.
2 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Arthritis Foundation.How to safely climb stairs.American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. OrthoInfo.How to use crutches, canes, and walkers.Additional ReadingAmerican Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS).Preventing falls among the elderly.Rosemont, IL: AAOSWarwick H, George A, Howell C, et al.Immediate physical therapy following total joint arthroplasty: Barriers and impact on short-term outcomes.Advances in Orthoped. 2019;2019:6051476. doi:10.1155/2019/6051476.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Arthritis Foundation.How to safely climb stairs.American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. OrthoInfo.How to use crutches, canes, and walkers.
Arthritis Foundation.How to safely climb stairs.
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. OrthoInfo.How to use crutches, canes, and walkers.
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS).Preventing falls among the elderly.Rosemont, IL: AAOSWarwick H, George A, Howell C, et al.Immediate physical therapy following total joint arthroplasty: Barriers and impact on short-term outcomes.Advances in Orthoped. 2019;2019:6051476. doi:10.1155/2019/6051476.
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS).Preventing falls among the elderly.Rosemont, IL: AAOS
Warwick H, George A, Howell C, et al.Immediate physical therapy following total joint arthroplasty: Barriers and impact on short-term outcomes.Advances in Orthoped. 2019;2019:6051476. doi:10.1155/2019/6051476.
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