How to fit crutches and teach crutch walking
Other platforms explain it with text and video. In VMS you practice it on the patient.
Poorly fitted crutches cause falls and nerve injury.
Step by step
Height
Top of the crutch 2 to 3 finger widths below the armpit. [1]
Handgrips
Elbows bent about 20 to 30 degrees. [1]
Weight on hands
Never lean on the armpits. [1]
Walking
Crutches and injured leg forward, then step through with the good leg. [1]
Stairs
Up with the good leg first, down with the crutches and injured leg first. [1]
Safety
Remove rugs, good shoes, practice with supervision. [1]
Common errors
- Crutches too tall.
- Leaning on armpits.
- Wrong stair order.
Practice it in VMS
In VMS you do this on the patient, not on paper: every step goes on the checklist with a score, and in Teach mode Blocky tells you what comes next.
VMS cases that train this skill
Sources
- Open RN, Nursing Fundamentals 2e (CC BY 4.0)
- Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College) (CC BY 4.0)
- OpenStax, Clinical Nursing Skills (CC BY 4.0)
Steps adapted from Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College) and OpenStax, Clinical Nursing Skills, licensed under CC BY 4.0. VMS is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.