Walking on crutches with a broken ankle comes down to keeping all your weight off the injured foot while using your arms and good leg to move. The technique is straightforward once you understand the basic sequence, but getting your crutches set up correctly and learning a few key movements (flat ground, stairs, sitting, standing) will make the difference between a frustrating few weeks and a manageable recovery.
Set Your Crutches to the Right Height First
Before you take a single step, your crutches need to fit your body. Poorly adjusted crutches cause hand pain, shoulder strain, and can even damage the nerves in your armpit. Stand up straight with your shoes on and adjust the total height so there’s a two- to three-finger gap between the top of the crutch pad and your armpit. The pad should never press directly into your armpit when you’re standing or walking.
Next, check the handgrips. When your arm hangs relaxed at your side, the handgrip should line up with the crease of your wrist. This puts a slight bend in your elbow when you grip, which gives you the leverage to support your body weight through your hands rather than jamming the pads into your underarms.
The Basic Walking Technique
The standard pattern for a broken ankle is called a three-point gait. At any moment, three things are touching the ground: both crutches (counted as one point), your injured leg (second point), and your good leg (third point). Here’s the sequence:
- Step 1: Move both crutches forward together, about one foot ahead of you.
- Step 2: Swing your injured leg up so your foot is roughly even with the crutches. If your doctor has told you to keep all weight off the ankle, let the foot hover without touching down.
- Step 3: Push down through the handgrips and step your good leg through, landing it slightly past the crutches.
Repeat that cycle. Your arms and good leg do all the work. Keep your body upright and your eyes looking ahead, not down at your feet. Looking down shifts your center of gravity forward and makes you less stable. Place the crutch tips about six inches out to each side and slightly ahead of your toes, which creates a wider, more balanced base.
Understanding Your Weight-Bearing Instructions
Your surgeon or orthopedist will give you a specific weight-bearing status, and following it matters. The terminology can be confusing, so here’s what the common terms actually mean in practice:
- Non-weight-bearing (NWB): Zero weight on the broken ankle. Your foot shouldn’t touch the ground at all, or only rests lightly without any load.
- Toe-touch weight bearing (TTWB): You can place your toes on the floor for balance, but only about 10 to 20 percent of your body weight goes through that foot. For a 150-pound person, that’s roughly 15 to 30 pounds of pressure.
- Partial weight bearing (PWB): You can put 30 to 50 percent of your body weight through the injured leg. The crutches still carry the rest.
If you’re unsure which category you fall into, clarify with your doctor before practicing. Putting too much weight on a healing fracture too early can delay bone repair or shift the alignment.
How to Sit Down and Stand Up
Sitting and standing are where most beginners feel unsteady. The key is to move slowly and always have something solid to hold onto besides the crutches themselves.
To sit down, back up until you feel the edge of the chair or couch against the backs of your legs. Shift your weight onto your good leg, then take both crutches out from under your arms and hold them together by the handgrips in one hand. Reach back with your free hand to grip the armrest or seat, and lower yourself down in a controlled motion. Don’t just drop into the seat.
To stand up, scoot forward so you’re on the edge of the seat. Hold both crutches by their handgrips in one hand (on the same side as your good leg), place the other hand on the seat or armrest, and push yourself up. Once you’re upright and balanced, tuck one crutch under each arm. Take a moment to feel stable before moving. If you feel wobbly at any point, sit back down and try again.
Going Up and Down Stairs
Stairs are the most intimidating part of crutch walking, but a simple rule makes it manageable: up with the good, down with the bad. That means your strong leg leads going up, and your injured leg leads going down.
Going Up
If there’s a handrail, grab it with the hand on your uninjured side. Tuck both crutches under the armpit on your injured side, or hold them in your other hand. Step up with your good foot first, straighten that leg to lift your body, then bring your crutches and injured leg up to the same step. Repeat one step at a time.
Without a handrail, keep one crutch in each hand. Move your injured leg and both crutches up together as a single unit, then push through your good leg to step up. This is harder and slower, so take your time.
Going Down
With a handrail, hold it on your uninjured side and put both crutches in the other hand. Lower your crutches and injured leg down to the next step first, then bend your good knee and step that foot down to meet them. Without a handrail, reverse the process: crutches and injured leg go down first, good leg follows.
If the stairs feel too risky, sitting down and scooting on your backside one step at a time is a perfectly safe alternative, especially in the first few days when your arms are still building strength.
Avoiding Nerve Damage and Hand Pain
The most important safety rule with underarm crutches is this: never lean your weight on the armpit pads. All of your weight should press down through your hands on the handgrips. The top pads are only there to help steer the crutches against your ribcage. Leaning on them compresses the nerves that run through your armpit, which can cause weakness in your shoulder, numbness down the outside of your arm, and in chronic cases, lasting nerve damage and muscle wasting. If you notice tingling or numbness in your hands, arms, or shoulders, adjust your technique immediately.
Hand and palm soreness is the most common complaint, especially in the first week. Aftermarket gel or foam handgrip covers can make a significant difference. Ergonomic replacement grips that spread pressure across a wider area of your palm are another option. Memory foam grip covers are available for around $10 to $20 and can cut down on the blistering and calluses that come from gripping hard rubber for hours a day.
Making Your Home Safer
Crutch tips have minimal traction on wet or slippery surfaces. Before you start moving around at home, do a quick walkthrough and address the obvious hazards. Secure or remove loose rugs and any rug corners that curl up. Tape down electrical cords that cross walkways. Wipe up any water on tile or hardwood floors immediately, and keep pathways clear of shoes, bags, and clutter.
A few other adjustments help: move items you use frequently (phone charger, water bottle, medications) to waist height so you don’t have to bend or reach while balancing. If your bathroom has a smooth tile floor, consider a non-slip bath mat outside the shower. A shower chair or stool lets you sit while washing, which removes the risk of standing on a wet surface with one functional leg entirely.
Common Mistakes That Slow You Down
Most people make the same handful of errors in the first few days. Placing the crutch tips too far ahead forces you into long, unstable strides. Keep them about 12 inches in front of your toes. Holding the crutches too close together narrows your base of support and makes you wobble side to side. Six inches out from each shoe is a good starting width.
Rushing is another frequent problem. The three-point gait feels slow, and the temptation is to speed up by taking bigger steps or skipping the pause between movements. This is how most crutch-related falls happen. Each cycle (crutches forward, injured leg forward, good leg through) should feel deliberate. Speed will come naturally as your arms get stronger and the pattern becomes automatic, usually within the first week or two.
Finally, crutch walking is genuinely tiring. Your arms, shoulders, and good leg are doing work they’re not used to. Take breaks. Sit down every 10 to 15 minutes if you’re moving around the house, and don’t push through arm fatigue, because that’s when your form breaks down and your armpit starts bearing weight it shouldn’t.