After millenia languishing as variations on "a long stick", the lonely crutch has a new mate, designed by a company in Edmonds, WA.
The "Freedom Leg" isn't a replacement for every use of the venerable crutch but it is an amazing new solution for immobilizing and taking the stress off of lower-leg injuries, including breaks below the knee. And, most amazingly, it lets you walk around hands-free.
Oh sure, it's not as graceful as walking with no device at all, but it sure beats the tripodal swing of regular crutches -- not to mention the underarm rash.
At a glance it looks a bit like a splint or a leg brace, but it's neither really. The lower leg is complete suspended within the frame of the Freedom Leg and all of the weight and stress normally shared by the lower half is shifted to the upper leg. This has the added benefit of preventing atrophy by keeping the upper leg working. Your arms are free to carry things, hold hands, or wave about in unencumbered conversation. Cool!
The company that makes the Freedom Leg, Forward Mobility, originally was a high-end bicycle maker that got into "medical mobility products" a few years ago. They've come up with a couple of quite inovative products besides the Freedom Leg; including a "seated scooter" that's a quck way around for folks with upper leg injuries too. (I'd like to see that one with a hand-pump velocipede variant, please?)
Congratulations to Forward Mobility. This is a terrific innovation. I hope you get a nice big market and are able to sell enough to bring the price down. But even at the current $350, this is going to be a huge help for a lot of people.
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