Assistive cane

A cane can help redistribute weight from a lower leg that is weak or painful, improve stability by increasing the base of support, and provide tactile information about the ground to improve balance.

Walkers are more stable due to their increased area of ground contact, but are larger and less wieldy and, like canes, pass the full load through the user's wrists in most cases.

For instance, a quad cane has a base attached to the shaft that provides increased stability by having four ferrules, and an adjustable cane may have two shaft segments telescoping one inside the other to allow adjustment for multiple sizes.

[4] Canes are generally held in the hand that is opposite to the side of the injury or weakness.

It also allows for fluid movement that better matches walking, as the hand on the opposite side of the leg generally sways forward in normal human locomotion.