I haven’t used a cane or crutch since I had a nasty sports accident a few years ago, but when I did they all seemed much of a muchness – cold, grey metallic pieces of steel with as much personality as an NHS car park clerk.

The designs were all basically the same too – straight pieces of metal, a rubber armpit rest and a clunky piece of plastic at the bottom.  Not much good for anything except hobbling around on and giving the odd cheeky nipper on my estate a light clout when dropping litter.  I say ‘light’ in case the Old Bill is reading.

A few people have tried to jazz them up.  A quick web search brought up one or two students at The Global Art Initiative in Texas who gave their crutches a bit of life – fair do’s they’re not a bad effort.

Lorena-Crutch-Painting-121609-080

That aside, cane and crutch design hasn’t really moved forward since Noah used one to ward off three chimpanzees – only two were allowed if you remember.

That’s why I was intrigued to find in my mobility compare inbox a missive from a company called Strongarm who claim to have invented the next generation of canes – or in their words ‘an ambulatory aid’.   Why the name Strongarm?  No idea but it’s probably a play on words between having a ‘strong arm’ and the firm grip a Chicago policeman gives when he apprehends you for wearing a t-shirt that says Obama?  No we can’t.

With headquarters in Illinois, the Strongarm looks almost like a normal cane but provides the stability of a forearm crutch, without the tripping hazards associated with walkers and quad-canes.  It’s a really neat idea tbh, because it transfers the load bearing from the user’s wrist to the forearm, creating a much more stable alternative to walkers and canes.

Here’s a small piccy:

strongarm mobility

Video: http://www.strongarmmobility.com/video4.php

From what I’ve read the Strongarm is of great benefit to amputees and post-op patients – and especially those who require greater balance, like someone recovering from a stroke or from Parkinson’s disease.

Their best product is the Forearm Cane. It’s an ambulatory aid that looks like a cane, but it provides significantly more stability, like a forearm crutch. With the StrongArm Forearm Cane, the tripping hazards associated with quad-canes and walkers are greatly reduced.

Given that the American Geriatrics Society Journal has found that 47,000 adults each year are treated in the US alone for serious cane and walker related injuries, the Strongarm looks to have a bright future.  The only two problems I can see is that there are no UK distributors – if that changes I’ll let you know – and the fact that UK prices don’t seem to have been set.  Hmm, with the pound dropping like a stone I’m not confident that it will be priced competitively.  Let’s wait and see.