(light, calming music)
- [Bob Schrupp] Hi, I'm Bob Schrupp, Physical Therapist.
- [Brad Heineck] Oh, I'm Brad Heineck, Physical Therapist.
Sorry about that, Bob. I was having fun.
- I see that.
And together we are the most famous physical therapists
on the internet.
- In our opinion, of course.
What's up today, Bob?
We're gonna work with these crutches,
and we're not gonna play with them anymore.
- That's right.
We're gonna show how to use crunches on the stairs, okay?
This can be a little bit dangerous, so-
- You gotta know what you're doin.
- So, I guess we'll talk about two instances, Brad.
Let's talk about an instance in which you can't
put any weight at all on one of your legs.
- Broken ankle, femur, tibia, in a cast.
- Let's consider it our left leg.
- Sure, okay.
- Left leg is the bad leg.
- As matter of fact, just so we remember,
I'm gonna roll up this all.
The girls are gonna get excited on this video,
they can see that leg, huh?
- I doubt that, Brad.
(Brad chuckles) Don't forget your glasses.
- Well, at least we can remember which leg is,
that's the one, the non-weightbearing leg.
- Okay.
- While I step out of the way (Bob mumbles),
I'll step back here in case you need my advice.
- Okay. So, obviously you're gonna be walking like this.
- Can we talk just real quickly, Brad,
about the crutches, that they should be adjusted so high,
that they're- - Right.
If this is going up into your armpit,
and you're bearing the weight through your armpit,
you are gonna get sore shoulders.
Underneath there, your brachial plexus is gonna flare out.
So make sure they're adjusted.
You can get two fingers in here,
and your elbows are just slightly bent,
when your hands are here.
You can adjust this up and down,
and you can adjust this up and down.
So, they need to be both adjusted.
I think we have a video on-
- We have a video on that.
What is a brachial plexus, Brad?
A brachial plexus is a bunch of nerves that are
coming out of your neck and going right through here:
nerve arteries and veins.
You put pressure on it and you'll get,
start getting trouble in your hands,
and harm them if you keep putting pressure on it.
- Now, if you're gonna go up the stairs,
no weightbearing on your left leg,
and you got a rail right here,
I would recommend either take both in one hand,
or if you have someone there to hold...
Can you hold that, Bob? - Sure.
- One hand here, one hand here,
and you get up close to it,
get a good solid base on both hands,
and we're just gonna-
- The crutch is on the lowest level.
- Right.
- You don't try to put the crutch up there.
- No good. It jams the shoulder up.
And then you're just gonna go up.
- You need a fair amount of strength for this.
This is not for someone that is elderly,
or that doesn't have the strength to do it.
- If you wanna put both together and you're by yourself,
cause when you get up to the top,
you're gonna need both of them again.
You just gotta do what you can to grab ahold
and get them lined up nicely, okay?
It's not too bad actually.
- It really isn't.
It works well pretty good,
even if you haven't got the strength.
- You bet.
Yeah, it really does.
You know, upper strength there-
- Why don't we stay with that?
Brad, why don't we show them how to go down the stairs?
- Sure.
Okay, now going down the steps,
left leg non-weightbearing.
I've got a rail here to work with,
so I'm gonna put both crutches together, line them up.
You're gonna get your toe right to the edge of the steps.
Don't try to do it back here,
it's a big hop, otherwise.
Get close to it,
always go down on it with a crutch.
Lead with a crutch,
slide your hand down a little bit,
so that you go to the crutches,
as opposed to here-
- [Bob] You'll end up all stretched out.
- Okay, so here and very gently go down.
This is not too bad to do.
- [Bob] No.
- This leg, non-weightbearing leg,
usually you kind of hold it out in front of you,
so your toe doesn't catch back here.
Obviously, you could fall going forward.
So, get that leg out here and down.
It's a lot easier than holding it in like that, okay?
- [Bob] These are good things to practice
in physical therapy, before you go home.
- Yeah, yeah.
It's not a good thing to learn on your own and just do it.
Now, the awkward thing is, if there is no handrail,
and it would be on this side,
then you got a problem.
How you gonna do that, Bob?
- [Bob] You're gonna have to do it
on the opposite side there.
- Then we're gonna go over-
- [Bob] Like that, yep.
- We can't. We got a rail here.
- [Bob] Why can't you do it like that?
- You're right.
Bob is always there to save the day.
Okay, let me back, going up.
I'm gonna go down like this.
Get that leg out and down.
Down. - [Bob] Nicely done, Brad.
- Yes!
- [Bob] Make sure you have good tips on the crutches,
so they don't slide on you.
- Oh, absolutely, yeah.
Bob's talkin' about these rubber tips on here.
If they're wore off, especially,
I've seen some where they wore out,
and the metal part is actually coming through.
Do not use those.
Get to the hardware store,
or wherever you need to, to get new replacements.
- [Bob] By the way, we are missing the pads on the crutches,
too.
These are not normally plastic like that, so.
- Right.
But if you're using them right, that's not a big deal,
cause they're not digging into your armpit anyway, so.
That's the up and down for non-weightbearing on one leg.
- [Bob] Sounds good.