Welcome to another video from Kneecrutches.co.uk - In this video, physiotherapist Tom Stukins gives his professional opinion on the iWALK 3.0 and talks about how he used it, along with some interesting work arounds if you're wearing a boot with a valve on the front.
00:00 - iWALK3.0 review intro
00:45 - Enter the iWALK3.0
02:01 - Fitting the iWALK3.0
02:41 - Using the iWALK3.0
03:05 - The vacoped valve workaround
03:50 - Would I recommend the iWALK3.0?
You can find the videos Tom refers to here - kneecrutches.co.uk/fitting-us... or on our channel.
Full transcript:
Hi, my name is Tom Stukins, I am a musculoskeletal physiotherapist with 22 years of experience treating all manner of sports injuries occupational injuries and rehabilitating people following orthopaedic procedures.
On the 2nd of October 2021, I ruptured my own achilles and at that point I was faced with a whole new reality. As, like many of my clients, I am very active, always on the go, cycle commuting to and from work, playing tennis regularly and visiting the gym. And so to be confronted with the period of time being unable to exercise in any of the normal ways, I was desperate to try and find any way to remain as active as possible.
Over the course of my career i've been exposed to and come across various aids to help people become more functional and improve their mobility. And one that had come onto my radar was the hands free crutch called the iWALK 3. Directly after my injury, once it was confirmed on the ultrasound, I was confined to plaster cast and non-weight bearing for an initial period of two weeks and then I was transferred into the mobility boot or the Vacoped boot for a further six to twelve weeks. Unfortunately five weeks into my initial rehabilitation. I managed to re-rupture my achilles, putting me back to square one. I then had another two-week period in the plaster cast and then a further 12 weeks in the boot.
Being non-weight bearing means that you have to use two crutches all the time which makes the simplest of tasks seem very difficult. Cooking your dinner, carrying a drink and doing any kind of activity requiring any arm movement and use of your arms becomes virtually impossible. I had to find a way to try and make my life easier to give me some function and some independence back. Having been exposed to the iWALK 3.0 in the past, I was keen to try and get hold of one as soon as I could, and through kneecrutches.co.uk, I was able to get my own unit.
When the unit arrives, it comes packaged in a box and should anyone require them, there are good videos online which help make putting the iWALK 3.0 together very easy. Once the iWALK 3.0 has been constructed it's really important that you take the time to make sure that the height is adjusted to the right level for your height, and that you take time to adjust the straps, making sure they do feel comfortable and fit well around your leg. By doing so it means that you're going to have optimal biomechanics, meaning that the rest of your joints in your leg are all going to be kept controlled and safe and to make sure that you're not limping when wearing the iWALK 3.0. Using the iWALK 3.0 for the first time was daunting but, given practice, you soon get used to it and trying to get over that initial fear is well worth it, for the freedoms that it affords you with your day-to-day function. Once I got used to the iWALK 3.0, I was able to gradually spend more and more time cooking, cleaning, I even managed to go around Tesco and get all my daily shopping with the use of the iWALK.
Using the iWALK in the plaster cast was very straightforward and very simple and had even pressure distribution across the whole calf and shin. But in the Vacoped, which is now the gold standard treatment for the management of achilles ruptures, the slight problem occurred with the valve being placed on the front of the shin meaning that the pressure going through the pad on the iWALK 3.0 was unworkable. As you can see, with a little bit of imagination and with a little bit of upholstery cushioning, you can create a workaround, which means that the valve now sits in the void between the two padding. Meaning that once again, you get used to the pressure distribution, you can build up your tolerance and have quite a lot of stamina in order to give you your freedom back once again.
As a physiotherapist, I would highly recommend the use of the iWALK 3.0 for anyone who has ankle, foot or achilles-based conditions that require them to be non-weight-bearing for a period of time. It really is a good way to get around, even using it on stairs becomes possible and I will certainly be recommending it more and more to my patients who I see, who are faced with similar circumstances, and for those who have broken toes, broken ankles and so on, that require the ability to walk with their hands free.
3 авг 2024
