Walking aids such as walking canes are used by a wide variety of people from seniors to wounded warriors to provide them the assist they need to stay active. But a metal walking cane has a stigma attached to it.
Steve Walsh of Brazos Walking Sticks has a solution -- trade that metal medicare cane for a handcrafted wooden walking stick. Naturally, he has a stake (forgive the pun) in this as a vendor of wooden walking sticks. He is offering 50% off of his walking sticks to the first 50 people who send in a photo of their metal cane. "That's all they have to do," he says. "Send in a picture of their ugly, metal Medicare cane and they'll get a really unbelievable deal on one of our handcrafted wood canes." Brazos Walking Sticks Offer
Moving Away from Metal Cane Stigma
I spoke at length with Walsh yesterday about walking sticks. The stigma of canes vs. wooden sticks struck a chord with me. Many military men and women returning from Iraq and Iran have had traumatic brain injury or leg injury and loss due to explosive devices. They need a mobility aid, but not the stigma attached to it. Using a handcrafted wooden walking stick as that mobility aid presents a different connotation to everyone they encounter. Wooden sticks carry a message of hiking, being close to nature, and identifying with ancient cultures from Native Americans to Druids.
Removing the stigma can encourage the person needing the mobility aid to stay more active rather than get into a downward spiral of feeling and acting disabled.
Bling My Stick
Walsh noted that people who switch to a wooden walking stick often carve them or add bling, from cane shields showing where they have hiked to feathers, charms and other personal decorations. Rather than people looking away from the person with the metal cane, the wooden sticks become conversation pieces.
People who use a cane for therapeutic reasons should consult with their doctor or therapist before making a switch.
- Why Choose a Wooden Stick Rather than Metal?
- How to Make a Walking Stick
- Add Your Review of Your Walking Stick or Walking Poles
Photo © Brazos Walking Sticks
Intentionally or not, with this article you are giving weight to a perception some may have of a “stigma” attached to using a walking aid. Wood is beautiful, wood is natural but there is nothing inherently embarassing or shaming about using metal instead. Metal is lightweight, versatile, durable, sometimes collapsible and can have that high techno modern look that many love. It can also be less expensive for so many on a budget these days, especially those who really require the aid and it is covered by insurance. (Except maybe for the first 50 who reply on this article, which seems like shilling).
You should really be a little ashamed for encouraging in any way a stigma attached to walking aids. I could go on, but you get my drift. And I don’t sell or have stock in metal canes, poles, walkers or anything else!
I don’t think we eliminate a prejudice or stigma by pretending it doesn’t exist. In this case, especially in the minds of those who need the mobility aids. I speak as a person who was mobility challenged for several years in high school and college. I had drop foot and had to wear a soft brace to be able to use my left foot. Then l had a bad limp for years. I know how you can mentally handicap yourself even if everyone around you is supportive and encouraging.
Taking a concrete step away from your own disabling thoughts can really help. For me, that happened when I went on my first 10k walk and got a volkssport medal. If having a more sporty mobility aid can help one person stay active, that is a blessing.
I know of elders who won’t use a walker but WILL use trekking poles
You make my point, most trekking poles are metal and I think a lot of folks with mobility problems would use them if there wasn’t a “stigma”. I’m not saying ignore it, I’m saying don’t foster it. Metal or wood is a choice and we should be encouraged to make that choice for the right reason, not because of emotional blackmail. It is unconscionable not to encourage us to use the best tools for our needs and support us in being proud and pleased with the enhancement to our abilities they provide, as you were.
We can ask for sportier metal canes, or deck them with precious metals and jewels if we want, nothing wrong with good design. Just don’t be ok with stigmatizing a legitimate choice.
My husband and many other woodturners are proudly making canes for the Wounded Warriors returning from the Middle East; woodcarvers are making beautiful, one of a kind handles for each one. I don’t see a cane as a stigma but a badge of honor.