How to Use a Walking Cane Properly: Height, Hand, and Steps

Using a walking cane well comes down to three choices: which hand holds it, how high the handle sits, and what moves first. Once those are settled, the cane stops feeling like a stranger in your hand. It becomes a third point of contact with the ground, one you can rest through while your legs keep doing most of the work. This page lays out the standard guidance. Then it adds a view from the Feldenkrais Method®, a way of feeling where your weight goes with each step. The cane then shares the load instead of carrying you.

The details deserve care. Each year, around 37.3 million falls worldwide are serious enough to need medical attention (WHO, 2021). A cane that is too tall, too short, or held in the less helpful hand can pull you off balance rather than steady you. The same cane, fitted and used with a little attention, does the opposite.

How to use a walking cane properly: the three basics

Which hand. Hold the cane in the hand opposite the sore or weaker leg. This surprises many people, because it feels natural to put the stick beside the leg that hurts. The opposite hand works better. When the weaker leg is on the ground, the cane is planted on the other side. Your weight is then spread across two points a comfortable width apart. It also matches how we already walk: the right arm swings forward as the left leg steps.

What height. Stand in the shoes you usually walk in, arms hanging loosely by your sides. The top of the handle should sit about level with the crease of your wrist. When you then hold it, the elbow bends a little, somewhere between 15 and 30 degrees. If the elbow is nearly straight, the cane is too short and you will tip toward it. If the elbow is sharply bent and the shoulder lifts, it is too tall. Most canes adjust, and a therapist can set the height in a minute.

What moves first. Move the cane forward together with the weaker leg, so the two land at about the same time. Then step through with the stronger leg. Cane and weaker leg, then stronger leg, and again. The rhythm feels odd for a day or two. Practise it along a hallway at home before you take it outside.

How to walk with a walking stick on the stairs

Stairs change the order. Going up, the stronger leg steps up first, and the weaker leg and the cane come up to join it. Going down, the cane and the weaker leg go down first, and the stronger leg follows. One way to remember it: the stronger leg leads upward, and the cane leads downward.

Where there is a handrail, use it. Hold the rail with one hand and the cane with the other, even if that means moving the cane to the other hand for the stairs. Take one step at a time and let both feet arrive on the same step before the next move. Our guide to going down stairs with stiff or sore knees looks at the knees' side of the same task.

Walking with a cane: posture, eyes, and the rubber tip

Stand as tall as is comfortable and let your eyes look ahead, not down at the cane. Watching the floor tips the head forward, and the rest of you follows. Your feet and the cane find the ground well enough without being supervised. Place the cane a short distance ahead and to the side of your foot. Planted far out in front, it pulls you forward and shortens the step.

Check the rubber tip every few weeks. A tip worn smooth or cracked can slide on a wet or polished floor. Replacements are easy to find at most pharmacies. While you are at it, check that the shaft is straight and that an adjustable cane is locked firmly at its setting.

A Feldenkrais® way to let the cane share the load

Here is where I would add something to the standard advice. Handed a cane, most of us lean on it. The shoulder climbs, the wrist locks, and the arm takes over a job the leg could still do. In the Feldenkrais Method®, the question is different: where does your weight actually go?

Try this beside a kitchen counter, cane in hand. Stand still and notice your two feet. Which one carries more of you? Let your weight drift a little toward one foot, then the other, nice and slow. Now let the cane touch down and notice how much of you travels into it. Can it be a little less? Can the cane be a third point you rest through, rather than a post you hang from?

Then walk a few slow steps. Does your pelvis move with each step, or hold still? Does the cane land with a thud, or settle quietly? Nothing here needs to change. Noticing is the practice, and a body that can feel a difference tends to pick the lighter option on its own. Anyone using a cane can explore this, whatever the reason for the cane.

If you would like that same quality of attention in a guided lesson, try our gentle whole body lesson. It is done lying down or in a chair, which is often where walking habits start to shift. The Feldy online movement program for stiffness after 60 is built from lessons like it. For the bigger picture of why walking changes and what those changes can mean, see our Feldypedia entry on gait changes and walking difficulty.

Who should fit the cane, and when to see a doctor

A cane is a piece of medical equipment. The people best placed to choose and fit one are a physical therapist or an occupational therapist. They can pick the type, set the height, decide the hand, and watch you walk with it. If you were given a cane after surgery or an illness, their advice comes first, and everything here sits alongside it.

See a doctor promptly if you fall often or have fallen recently. The same goes for feeling dizzy or faint when you stand or walk. Walking that has changed suddenly over days or weeks also needs a check. Those changes have causes a cane cannot address, and they deserve a careful look. And if part of you feels that a cane means giving up, our explainer on whether using a cane makes you weaker takes that worry seriously. The short version: moving less is what weakens legs, and a cane that keeps you walking is on your side.

Find where to start

A cane settles the question of support. The question of how you move with it is still open, and different methods answer it through different doors.

Not sure which movement method fits you? Take the 60 second Movement Match quiz, it asks how you move through a day and names one method suited to walking with a stick in your hand.

Common Questions about how to use a walking cane (FAQ)

Which hand should I hold my walking cane in?

Hold it in the hand opposite the sore or weaker leg. When that leg takes your weight, the cane is planted on the other side, so your support is spread across a comfortable width. It also keeps the natural swing of walking, where an arm and the opposite leg move together. If a clinician has told you to use the other hand for a particular reason, follow their advice.

What height should a walking stick be?

Stand in your usual shoes with your arm hanging loosely at your side. The top of the handle should be level with the crease of your wrist. Held that way, the elbow bends a little, around 15 to 30 degrees. A stick that leaves the elbow straight is too short, and one that lifts the shoulder is too tall. A physical therapist or occupational therapist can set it in a minute.

Is it safe to start using a cane on my own, and who should not?

A cane bought off the shelf and used without advice can be too tall, too short, or the less helpful type for you. It is far safer to have a physical therapist or occupational therapist choose and fit it. If both legs feel weak, if you feel dizzy, or if you have fallen more than once, a cane may not give enough support. A walker may suit you better. Ask before you rely on one.

How often should I practise walking with my cane?

Every day, in short spells. A few minutes along a hallway at home, several times a day, teaches the rhythm faster than one long outing. Once the pattern feels familiar, use the cane for your ordinary walking rather than saving it for long trips. Daily use is also what keeps the legs strong.

How long does it take to get used to walking with a cane?

Most people settle into the basic rhythm after a week or so of using it every day, provided the height and the hand suit them. Feeling at ease on uneven paths, in crowds, and on stairs takes more time. If it still feels clumsy a month in, have a physical therapist watch you walk with it. A small change in height or timing often makes the difference.

What is the best type of walking cane for everyday use?

The best cane is the one fitted to you by a physical therapist or occupational therapist. For light support on one side, a single point cane with a comfortable handle suits most people. If you need more steadiness, a cane with a wider base stands on its own and gives more support. It is heavier and slower on stairs, though. Whatever the type, the tip should be rubber and not worn smooth.

What should I avoid when using a walking cane?

Avoid leaning your whole weight onto the cane with a locked elbow. Avoid carrying it beside the sore leg unless a clinician asked you to. Avoid looking down at the cane as you walk, planting it far out in front, and using a worn or cracked rubber tip. At home, clear loose rugs and trailing cables, and do not walk in socks on a smooth floor.

How is a Feldenkrais lesson different from tai chi for walking with a cane?

Tai chi trains steadiness through slow, set sequences done standing up, with careful shifting of weight from foot to foot. It has a solid research record. A Feldenkrais lesson works through a different mechanism. Most of it happens lying down or in a chair, with small, easy movements and attention to what you feel. Walking often feels different afterwards, even though it was not practised directly. Both are reasonable choices, and some people do both.

When should I see a doctor about my walking?

See a doctor promptly after any fall, or if you fall more than once. Dizziness or faintness when you stand or walk needs a check too. So does walking that has changed quickly over days or weeks. New numbness, tingling, or a leg that gives way also need a prompt check. A physical therapist or occupational therapist can fit or refit the cane and watch how you walk with it.