Shoulder pain from crutches is almost always caused by bearing too much weight through your armpits instead of your hands. The fix involves a combination of correcting your technique, adjusting how your crutches fit, and giving your shoulders some targeted relief. Most people notice improvement within a few days of making these changes.
Why Crutches Cause Shoulder Pain
Standard underarm (axillary) crutches are designed to transfer your body weight through your arms and torso, not through the padded tops that sit near your armpits. When you lean on those pads, you compress a bundle of nerves and blood vessels that run through the armpit area. This creates pain, and in more serious cases, it can irritate the nerves that control movement and sensation in your shoulder and arm.
Beyond nerve compression, crutch walking forces your shoulders to do work they aren’t built for. Your shoulder joints bear peak forces averaging around 61% of your body weight with each stride, a load that can climb above 80% depending on your gait. That repeated stress can inflame the rotator cuff tendons and strain the muscles around the shoulder blade. Exaggerated movements during crutch walking can also stretch the nerve that runs along the top of your shoulder blade, causing a deep ache that’s hard to pinpoint.
Check Your Crutch Fit First
Poorly fitted crutches are the single biggest contributor to shoulder pain, and the fix takes about two minutes. Stand up straight with your shoes on and let your arms hang naturally. There should be a two to three finger gap between the top of the crutch pad and your armpit. If the pad is pressing into your armpit, your crutches are too long. Even a few centimeters too tall can shift load onto the wrong structures. One case study documented an ulnar stress reaction caused by crutches that were just 3.5 centimeters too long on each side.
Next, check the handgrip height. With your hands on the grips, your elbows should bend about 15 to 30 degrees. If your elbows are locked straight or bent too deeply, adjust the grip position. The handgrips are where your weight should actually go, so getting this height right matters more than most people realize.
Fix Your Walking Technique
The most important rule: never rest your body weight on the armpit pads. Those pads are there for light guidance and stability, not weight bearing. Your hands and wrists should carry the load through the grips. Think of squeezing the crutches against your ribcage with your upper arms while pushing down through your palms.
This feels tiring at first because your arm muscles aren’t conditioned for it. That’s normal. If you find yourself sagging onto the pads after walking for a while, it’s a sign you need to rest more frequently rather than shift to a leaning posture. Take breaks every few minutes, sit down when possible, and build up your endurance gradually over days rather than powering through.
Add Padding to the Right Places
Aftermarket gel or memory foam pads for both the armpit tops and handgrips can reduce pressure and make crutch walking more comfortable. The handgrip pads are especially worth adding since your hands are supposed to carry most of the load, and bare plastic grips can cause soreness and blisters that make you unconsciously shift weight back to your armpits.
You can find crutch pad sets at most pharmacies or online for under $20. Look for ones thick enough to cushion but firm enough that they don’t bottom out under your weight. Wrapping the grips in athletic tape or pipe insulation foam works as a temporary substitute.
Stretches and Exercises for Relief
Crutch walking tightens the muscles across the front of your chest and the tops of your shoulders while fatiguing the muscles between your shoulder blades. A few targeted stretches can counteract this pattern.
An overhead stretch using a light stick, cane, or even a broomstick helps restore range of motion. Lie flat on your back holding the stick with both hands near your hips, arms straight. Slowly arc the stick up and over your head in a smooth motion until it touches down above you (or as far as comfortable), then return to the start. Five repetitions opens up the front of the shoulders and chest.
A standing row with a resistance band strengthens the muscles that stabilize your shoulder blades. Attach the band to a doorknob or sturdy post, hold it with both hands, and step back until there’s light tension. Pull the band toward you by bending your elbows and squeezing your shoulder blades together, keeping your arms close to your body. Aim for your forearms to end up parallel to the floor. This builds the endurance your upper back needs for crutch walking without overloading inflamed tissues.
A simple doorway chest stretch also helps. Stand in a doorway with your forearms resting on each side of the frame, elbows at shoulder height, and lean gently forward until you feel a stretch across your chest. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds. This counteracts the hunched-forward posture that crutches encourage.
Ice, Heat, and Rest
If your shoulder pain is new (within the first few days), ice is your better option. Cold constricts blood vessels, reduces inflammation, and numbs acute pain. Apply an ice pack wrapped in a thin towel for 15 to 20 minutes at a time, several times a day.
If the pain has become more of a chronic stiffness or dull ache that’s been building over weeks, warmth works better. Moist heat loosens tight muscles and stiff joints, and it’s particularly effective for the neck and shoulder tension that crutch users develop. A warm shower directed at your shoulders, a microwavable heat wrap, or a damp towel warmed in the dryer all work well. Over-the-counter anti-inflammatory pain relievers can help manage either type of pain in the short term.
Consider a Different Type of Crutch
If you’ll be on crutches for more than a couple of weeks, forearm crutches (the kind with a cuff around your forearm and no armpit pad) eliminate the armpit compression problem entirely. They’re standard in most countries outside the United States and give you better control and posture.
Interestingly, research measuring forces inside the shoulder joint found that forearm crutches actually produce slightly higher loads on the ball-and-socket joint itself compared to axillary crutches. That’s because underarm crutches transfer some force directly through the shoulder blade, bypassing the joint. However, forearm crutches remove the risk of nerve compression in the armpit and allow a more natural walking pattern, which is why many physical therapists recommend them for longer recovery periods. Knee scooters and hands-free crutches are other alternatives worth discussing if your injury allows.
Warning Signs That Need Attention
Most crutch-related shoulder pain is muscular soreness that resolves with better technique and rest. But nerve damage from armpit compression, sometimes called “crutch palsy,” is a real risk that can become permanent if ignored.
Watch for numbness or tingling in your hand, fingers, or arm. Weakness in your grip, an inability to lift your arm, or a burning or stinging sensation in your shoulder are all signs that the nerves running through your armpit are being injured. An arm that feels heavy or hangs limply is a more advanced warning sign. If you develop any loss of feeling or movement, stop using the crutches and get evaluated promptly. Nerve injuries caught early often recover fully, but delayed treatment raises the risk of lasting weakness or loss of sensation.