Walking Canes Article

One of the latest fashion accessories is actually quite old and also quite healthy for you. This is the walking cane.

While canes, or walking sticks, are not new, what is new about it is a recent material used for the cane: Lucite (also known as Plexiglas, or acrylic).

Lucite walking sticks are sometimes are used as a necessity for a good number of people, and simply as a fashion accessory for others.
Either way, my research into both fashion and health issues shows me that Lucite Canes can be beneficial.

Before dealing with the fashion aspect, let's look at the need for canes, or Walking Sticks.

Regardless of age, if you've had an accident and your walking is impaired, it seems you have 2 choices. Either you can not walk (that's not my option!) or you can find an aid. The walking stick is a great aid in this respect. They provide steadiness and stability, allowing you to get around pretty well (your ability to get around with a walking stick depends a lot on your health and strength, but the type of walking stick you choose can make a difference, so you might want to do some research in this regard).

I suppose walking sticks have been with us for much of human history. And, as the name suggests, in the early days they must have been just sticks, which helped support the person as he or she struggled to overcome some infirmity or accident.

Nowadays the primary reason for walking sticks are not much different, but as we become more sophisticated, we want something more than a cut piece of a tree to help us around. So, walking sticks have become both a fashion and a necessity. Our present generation, though, is not the first to use walking sticks for fashion.

For, while some people might consider a cane as a detriment to normal life, we might be interested to know that in the early part of the last century, it was considered an honour to use a cane and one had to produce a license to carry a cane in England.

I presume then, that there was no shame in having a cane and it apparently had an element of fashion associated with it, which we are re-embracing. The fashion aspect is relevant, but of course the essential point is that walking aids should be looked upon with a positive attitude because without a walking aid one who needs this aid is at risk of additional injury or loss of independent mobility skills.

Not that the infirm should live without the consideration of others, no matter how independent a walking stick may seem to make them. Lady Bracknell of the UK writes in a column of hers that she has long observed that people using public transport should be a bit more considerate to those using walking sticks. Somewhat humorously (I hope!) she notes that those who use public transport should remember that a handsome walking stick is capable of inflicting considerable, albeit temporary, 'accidental' damage to the exposed ankles of passengers who are too engrossed in their daily periodicals to give up their seat to one whose need for it is greater than their own.

So, the need for walking sticks is real. The next question is: how comfortable do you feel about using a walking stick? Comfort here can mean the comfort of the stick itself, and also your mental or emotional comfort in being tied, so to speak, to using a walking stick.

This is one place where Lucite Walking Canes come into the picture. Lucite canes can be a most attractive 'partner' as you stroll down the street, or in the park or the shopping mall. And though they may not be as "medical" as the metal or aluminum ones are, they are good to have in a disabled person's collection.

In fact, they do the job of helping you get about and they are a great fashion statement.

Many who use Lucite walking sticks use them as light duty walking canes. Lucite canes of 1" diameter are the thickest material that is practical, without making the cane too heavy. However, 1.25" diameter offset canes and martial arts canes are very stout, and suitable for big people.

So, people who have so far caught on to Lucite walking sticks do it for various reasons. One user of Lucite walking sticks said: "I have MS and my canes are my accessories. This will brighten my day."

In the same vein, that is, as a medical aid but also a psychological comfort, one person I met commented that "Healing a twisted ankle is a drag but my fab purple cane was the envy of my workplace."

This comment makes me note that one aspect of a
walking stick as a fashion statement is that, for
Lucite material, it can make many colours come across
as really bright and cheerful.

Perhaps the bright colours and the light feel are what
encourage some people to buy not just one, but a
variety of Lucite canes.

One woman I met, who lives in a rural area, commented: "We live upstate and all you see are these dark, dismal, rickety old canes. What a bright light these Lucite canes are. These canes made me, literally, come out of my shell and depression due to being told by my physician that I am not to leave my house without a cane. Now, I so very happily use my canes, using a different one each day!" In a purely fashion outlook, one person said that it was a "lovely cane, I will be using it for a dance prop."

So, I guess walking sticks for fashion are catching on again. Through a socialite friend of mine, I heard about a young man who came to a fancy party and was greeted with great sympathy by his friends, because of his cane. He threw his friends off for a moment when he said that it was "A terrific cane for 'evening wear'."

One last comment: it ain't bad for self-defence either. Perhaps long-time walking stick users are aware of that.

So, whether for health, fashion or personal safety, consider a walking stick as an aid, not a cumbersome necessity. Lucite walking sticks are useful for all three of these purposes and they really do brighten up your day, or your evening, out.

By Steve Durante, acrylic fabricator (23 years) to commercial accounts in Fort
Lauderdale. Local plastics distributors, a couple trophy shops, and a furniture store
keep me at capacity most of the time. My ebay name is southeastflorida.