It is very important to know how to use a walking cane in the right way for your health and stability. And in this blog we want to answer the question: how to use a walking cane during the winter?

Those with mobility issues experience certain challenges during the winter. And It's important to know hot to use a walking cane safely and effectively during snowy and icy conditions.

Here are some tips to how to use a walking cane during the winter

When you come upon a patch of ice it may be very sudden- or you may not realize it until you’re already standing on it. Black ice is a common problem near roads and in parking lots. More typical forms of ice may appear on tiny puddles hidden by grass or gravel, making them all the more hazardous.

The obvious conclusion is to watch out for ice to begin with, but your Handy Cane can help you out a little more. As you’re walking, and watching, give the end of the cane a gentle tap on anything that looks suspicious before your feet are anywhere near it. If temperatures are climbing, it’s possible that you’ll crack the ice and give yourself even better visibility. Otherwise, it is also possible that you’ll hear a crunching from tapping ice rather than ground.

If possible, always try to avoid ice while walking with your cane.

Snow is an even greater hazard than ice. Not only can it hide the latter beneath a layer or two, but other hazards can lie in wait beneath the fluffy white crust. Again, we suggest testing anything beyond your personal footing with the end of your cane. Test for depth of the snow ahead, as well. You never know if there’s a hole hidden, but your walking cane can find it for you.

In addition to this, we do not recommend walking while snow is falling. Snow fall can thicken very suddenly, making it difficult to judge depth perception, where curves are, and other such things that may make for tricky cane placement.

Salting the roads, sidewalks and porches are all wonderful approaches to getting rid of dangerous and unwanted snow in traveling areas. However, salt also takes a pretty strong toll on the end of your cane.

Much like salt deteriorates your car and your tires faster than if roads did not have salt, winter salting of sidewalks and parking lots will wear down the tip of your cane as well. Here’s what we recommend: if you have an old rubber tip that is in good shape, don’t slip on a new one until the snow has melted. This way your new tip will be in productive shape for a longer time period.

We also recommend washing the rubber tip of your cane as soon as you can. That doesn’t mean you need to hurry into the restroom and rinse it off when you’re out and about, but giving it a good wash down at home with soap and water then rubbing the cane tip dry with a towel before use will help keep the salt from eating it any more than it has to.