How to fit crutches and teach crutch walking
Other platforms explain it with text and video. In Making Synapses you practice it on the patient.
Poorly fitted crutches cause falls and nerve injury.
Step by step
Height
Top of the crutch 2 to 3 finger widths below the armpit. [1]
Handgrips
Elbows bent about 20 to 30 degrees. [1]
Weight on hands
Never lean on the armpits. [1]
Walking
Crutches and injured leg forward, then step through with the good leg. [1]
Stairs
Up with the good leg first, down with the crutches and injured leg first. [1]
Safety
Remove rugs, good shoes, practice with supervision. [1]
Common errors
- Crutches too tall.
- Leaning on armpits.
- Wrong stair order.
Practice it in Making Synapses
In Making Synapses you do this on the patient, not on paper: every step goes on the checklist with a score, and in Teach mode Blocky tells you what comes next.
Making Synapses cases that train this skill
- Compartment syndrome under a cast
- Pain management, hip fracture
- Facial trauma with airway risk
- Rattlesnake bite
- Dilated cardiomyopathy
- Chronic venous insufficiency
26 Making Synapses cases train this skill: open the case library
Sources
- Open RN, Nursing Fundamentals 2e (CC BY 4.0)
- Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College) (CC BY 4.0)
- OpenStax, Clinical Nursing Skills (reference)
Steps adapted from Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Facts and steps also follow OpenStax, Clinical Nursing Skills (reference). Making Synapses is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.