Yes, it is normal. What you are most likely experiencing is something we call "stubbing the iToe". This is actually a sign your body is getting comfortable with the crutch. Normally, you use your ankle and knee joint to lift your foot when you're swinging your leg from back to front (initiating a new step). With the iWALK crutch, you have to elevate the foot by slightly raising your hip and swinging the crutch through to the next step, which is something your body will eventually adapt to naturally. Please review the video below:
In the first few days when you are still adapting to the iWALK, you may forget to perform this hip hike and the front edge of the iWALK crutch tread will hit the ground during the swing-through-phase of walking. This is what causes the stubbing effect you are experiencing.
So what can you do to help this? Luckily, this will actually resolve itself as your body gets used to iWALKing. It is essential to remember to look up, keep your shoulders back, your momentum forward and actively stay focused when using the crutch. You are not born knowing how to iWALK so give yourself time to adjust properly. You can always review our fitting and use page for further tips on adjusting the crutch.
One last thing - we know that it can be scary when this happens, but falls are exceedingly rare because when this happens, your good foot is planted firmly on the ground in front of you and recovery is generally easy and automatic.
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