How to Walk with Crutches in the Snow

If you are unfortunate enough to have an injury during the winter weather, you may have to use crutches on the ice and snow. As you can imagine, snow and crutches do not mix, and falling is almost bound to happen if you do not take precautions. However, with care, you can walk safely with crutches even on ice and snow, and without assistance.

Things You'll Need

• Plastic bag
• Road salt or sand
• Ice grip crutch attachments
• Scissors or knife
• Sandpaper

Show More

Instructions

• 1

  Get someone to assist you. Having a buddy hold you by your dominant arm, between your elbow and shoulder while walking with you through the snow is the safest and easiest way to get from point A to point B.

• 2

  Allow a buddy to pour a small amount of road ice or sand into a plastic bag and sprinkle it in front of you as you walk. Although you still need to be careful, the salt or sand will provide some traction.

• 3

  Purchase ice grip crutch attachments from your local medicine supply store or online (see Resources). These attachments add grip to the crutches to prevent falling on snow or ice.

• 4

  Score the rubber bottoms of your crutches with scissors or a knife. This way your crutches will be able to grip the ground more easily.

• 5

  Use sandpaper to rough up the bottoms of your crutches to prevent slipping.