PN + stairs Help!!

Do you have railings on both sides or one side?
I am considering adding a second railing on the opposite side.

@januaryjane
I can totally relate. I hate using stairs and luckily only need to use them when going up and down the stairs to my basement and a couple stairs in and out of my house.

What I need to do is be very conscious and focused when using the stairs. I can’t carry much and I need to have a good grip on the hand rail. Lighting stairways and walkways is important. I always need to wear good fitting, sturdy shoes and I look down at my feet and the steps and I go down, one at a time. When I go up stairs, I need to use the handrail to pull me up one step at a time. By looking at the rail/step/my feet, it helps me make sure my foot is firmly on the step before advancing my movement. Sometimes I find myself tapping my foot in the step before stepping on it as if I am consciously trying to connect my foot sensation to my brain. Be careful around rugs and trip hazards and remove them when possible.

I have fallen a couple times and broke my foot. I have had spine surgery on neck and lower back and have fusion/metal in my spine plus I have bilateral carpal tunnel in my wrists so don’t want to fall again. I have a new herniated disc pressing on my spinal cord and need another surgery. If I fall in a certain way, I could become paralyzed so falling is not an option.

I have dogs and cats and also need to be careful not to trip on them, their toys or lose balance when my dog pulls me while walking.

I wear glasses and need to make sure I always wear them when walking/using stairs.

I fell in February 2022 and I have 2 tears in my left knee 1 tear in my left hip I fell hard from 2 stairs straight to the sidewalk and suffer with pain every day I been to doctors with no luck everyone of them say different things

Yes 🙂

I stubbed my foot last year and broke my little toe! Now I have arthritis in it from tissue damage and it swells now whenever I walk on it. 🙁 I'm so sorry you've had such a awful time!! Yes, be wary of trip hazards and pets. I have to carry laundry and such up and down stairs but have never fallen from that!

My heart breaks for you Debbie! I'm so sorry!

I also have implants in my back and fell on one of them in Feb. I don't think I ruined it but it would have to be surgically fixed. ;( I am still pretty young, the only thing saving me now. But it was wooden stairs and I hit that once broken pinky toe pretty good making it worse!

My heart breaks for you Jane

@debbiejody
Did you have MRIs of your hips/pelvis and knee? What do the reports show?

Did they offer cortisone shots in your hip and knee to relieve pain? Are you working with a pain management specialist? Did the orthopedic doctor suggest surgery?

I have bilateral gluteal tears/tendinopathy and bilateral hamstring tears and it is very painful. They suggested physical therapy and said they could do cortisone shots to see if that would help. It is hard for me to stand up and walk up stairs and it has been over a year I had my MRIs of my hips and nothing has improved/healed on its own. I worry I will need surgery to reattach muscle to bone and repair tears (read they call the procedure “debridement” to create new attachments). 😳

So sorry you are going through this. People have suggested a variety of helpful things so far, so let me just offer two:
-- Consider putting strips of contrasting color tape on the edge of the stairs. If there is any chance that it's partially about vision (which is certainly true in my case, where the edge of the step tends to hit exactly at the edge of my bifocal insert), this can be very helpful. The key is to maximize the color contrast.
-- If you search on this Mayo site, you'll find recommendations for shoes and slippers. I've found that "barefoot shoes" help my stability: spacious toe box, zero-drop, thin soles, soles with a fairly noteworthy tread on the bottom. I tend to buy a larger size than they recommend to really keep the end of the shoe away from the end of my toes.

If you can afford it, I've got a friend who has installed a stair lift, which can sometimes be leased and can always be removed. Not all staircases are appropriate for a lift, but lots of them are. She has found it very helpful both for keeping her from needing to go up or down stairs, but also helpful to carry, say, a laundry basket up and down stairs.