About Ataxia Balance Crutches

THE FIRST EVER BALANCE CRUTCH

How They Work

The Ataxia Balance Crutch is unlike any other assistive mobility device on the market. It provides the user the ability to replicate the body's natural stride and the rocking motion that achieves balance while walking. For users of the Ataxia Balance Crutch the technique for using the crutches for natural motion is intuitive.
 
Traditional mobility devices -- quad canes, walkers and wheelchairs -- provide mobility capability, but do nothing to address the physical and emotional aspects of managing balance and coordination challenges some people face. Ataxia Balance Crutches offer lateral, forward and backward stable mobility, helping users gain confidence in their ability to walk, and helping keep users active and fit -- important aspects of their well-being and quality of life.
 
Anterior, posterior and lateral legs provide unprecedented stability, with three legs of the crutch in contact with the ground at all times. This allows the user to move forward in continuous, smooth steps, manipulating the crutches easily in a natural rocking motion, comfortably and without significant exertion. The gel-filled tips are flexible and compress as they make contact with the ground, providing cushioning that supports a smooth and steady walking motion.



Who Should Consider Using Ataxia Balance Crutches 

Designed for people with balance-related Ataxia, and those with unsteady, staggering, or abnormal gait, as well as those with coordination challenges -- including people who thought they may have no other option other than a wheelchair or walker -- Ataxia Balance Crutches allow users the ability to walk with confidence on their own.
 
People who should consider the Ataxia Balance Crutches for mobility include people diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, Cerebral Palsy, Spastic Quadriplegia or other neurological conditions. Also, people who have experienced a stroke or cerebrovascular accident (CVA), traumatic brain injury (TBI), above-knee amputations, or other trauma will benefit from the stabile mobility that these crutches provide.
 
Ataxia Balance Crutches are easily customized to meet the specific needs of anyone experiencing balance difficulties while walking.

​How Ataxia Balance Crutches Differ From Other Mobility Devices

People with conditions and injuries that impact their coordination and balance have a variety of options. Those with milder conditions may be able to continue walking with the help of traditional forearm crutches or a quad cane; others have had no choice but to use a wheelchair, scooter or walker.
 
The downside of traditional forearm crutches is the single point of contact they make with the ground, which does not provide significant stability. Quad-canes with a four-leg X pattern design may provide slightly more stability than a standard crutch, but they also promote an asymmetrical gait. Both of these devices often have rigid tips that meet the ground causing uncomfortable jolts further challenging the user's balance and control.
 
Walkers are often prescribed to people with balance issues, but limit the user's ability achieve a natural walking pattern -- an important key in balance. Walkers are also generally not suitable for uneven terrain, grass, stairs, crowded environments or rooms with tightly arranged furniture. Wheelchairs provide mobility from a seated position, which can impact the user's ability to do many things (such as "stirring a pot on the stove," as one Ataxia Balance Crutches user commented) and when used indoors, they have similar problems as walkers. The stigma of a walker or wheelchair, as something for older people with significant mobility issues, can be a deterrent for younger people with balance and coordination issues.