Ten Exercises to Decrease the Need for a Walker

Remember when you got your first job? The idea sounded so wonderful, right? It meant independence and money. Then you started working and you realized that hard work is hard work, and maybe having a job isn’t so fun after all.

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That’s kind of what it’s like to get a walker for the first time. Sure, after surgery or a fall you’re glad to have the help to maintain your independence, but as you start feeling better, you feel like the walker is actually more of a chore.

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For some, the walker is and will continue to be a necessary part of life and that is okay! I know it doesn’t feel like it right now, but I promise it is!

Using a walker does not make you “old,” “weak,” “feeble,” “frail,” or any less of person!

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If you truly need a walker, the only thing it changes about you is that you are now more stable when you walk.

However, I know there are many people who no longer want to use a walker, and they may not need to. I will say that regaining the strength and balance to not need a walker can be a challenge, but if you’re up for it, here are the exercises I recommend you do (with supervision and the approval of your physical therapist) to help achieve that goal.

**Disclaimer: The following is not a guaranteed method! Just a few exercise suggestions, that is all! Once again, there are people who truly need to continue to use a walker, and it’s up to a licensed therapist to make that decision. Additionally, exercise adaptations must be made for each client based on the individual’s diagnoses/precautions/etc.**

In the therapy world, a “stepping strategy” means taking a large step to avoid falling. It’s what you do if you’re standing in line at Disneyland and all of a sudden an excited kid bumps into you from behind. You’re forced to take a step forward to keep your balance.

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Warning: You will feel so silly practicing these! But remember! You will feel even more silly if you fall in public!

When most of us are about to fall, we panic! We try to avoid it by grabbing on to someone or something. Training your body to have a good, solid stepping strategy will decrease the panic and increase the chances that your body will react naturally by stepping.

Practicing taking these big steps is creating a new habit in your brain. The more you practice it, the more it’s engrained in you. Then when you’re about to fall, you’ll take a step, without even needing to think about it.

Stepping strategies need to be practiced forwards, backwards, sideways, diagonals- you get the point. They also need to be practiced A LOT! Habit formation takes time, so practice this as much as you can.