Pair of Crutches

History

Wooden leg users, and especially those who used more basic devices such as peg legs, often used crutches to support them, help them to walk, and take pressure off their amputated legs. Amputation techniques were still being refined in the nineteenth century, so sore, irritable stumps were not uncommon. The poorest of amputees tended to use very makeshift peg legs, sometimes homemade or produced by local craftsmen. In cases such as this, pairs of crutches or combinations of crutches and walking sticks often did the majority of the work in terms of assisting the user.