Step to walking with a walker is the basic pattern for using a walking frame when one leg is weaker or more painful than the other. You move the frame forward, step the weaker leg forward first, then bring the stronger leg up level with it, so your feet finish side by side before the next step. Pressing down through the handles takes some of your weight off the weaker leg while it is loaded. It is often the first way of walking people learn after an operation on the hip or knee, a broken bone in the leg or a spell in hospital.

How to do the step to walking with a walker

Stand tall close behind the frame with a hand on each handle and your elbows slightly bent. The handles should be level with the creases of your wrists when your arms hang by your sides.
Lift the frame and set it down about one short step ahead, as in the video. If your frame has front wheels, roll it forward instead. Check that all its legs are flat on the floor before you go on.
Step your weaker leg forward toward the middle of the frame, keeping the foot behind the front legs.
Press down through the handles as your weight moves onto the weaker leg, and let that leg take only as much weight as your physio has said it can. Stand tall over it, with the knee straight but not forced back and your hips forward over your feet.
Step the stronger leg forward to land beside the weaker one, so your feet are level. Settle, then move the frame again.

What you should feel

Your arms and shoulders work as they take some of your weight through the frame, and the weaker leg works as it takes the rest. After some practice the order of frame, weaker leg, stronger leg starts to come without thinking.

Common mistakes

Putting the frame too far ahead, so you have to reach and bend forward to catch up with it.
Stepping while the frame is still moving, or before all its legs are down.
Walking with your head down and your hips bent, watching your feet.
Swinging the stronger leg past the weaker one when your physio has asked for a step-to pattern.

How often

A common start is a few short walks a day of a few meters each, or 2 to 5 minutes at a time, with more distance added as you feel steadier. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

You feel dizzy, lightheaded, faint or sick, or the room seems to spin. Hold your support, sit down and get medical advice the same day before you practice again. If you faint, it does not settle within a few minutes of sitting still, your vision suddenly blurs or goes double, or you cannot stand or walk steadily, call emergency services.
You stumble, the weaker leg gives way or the frame tips. Stop and sit down, and tell your physio before your next walk.
New or much worse pain in the hip, knee or ankle, or pain that makes you limp more than before.
You have had a fall or an injury and now have severe hip pain, or you cannot walk or put weight on the leg. Call emergency services or go to an emergency department. This can be a sign of a broken hip (hip fracture).
Your calf or thigh is getting more swollen, or becomes warm, tender, red or darker than usual, or has a new throbbing or cramping pain. This can be a blood clot, especially after an operation, an injury, time in a cast, boot or brace, or a spell of being much less mobile than usual, and after an operation it can also be an infection. Stop and contact your medical team or get medical advice the same day. If you are also short of breath or have chest pain, call emergency services.
You suddenly become short of breath, get chest pain or pain in your upper back that may be worse when you breathe in, cough up blood, your heart beats very fast, or you faint. Call emergency services straight away, even if your leg looks normal, as this can be a blood clot in the lungs (pulmonary embolism).

From the clinic

The video and voice guide match on the order: frame first, then the weaker leg, then the stronger leg joins it. The voice guide says to push the frame away from you, and the man in the video does this by lifting his frame, which has no wheels, a short way forward. A frame with front wheels can be rolled instead. Guy's and St Thomas' advises that a walking aid should be level with your wrist crease when your arm hangs by your side, and that if the handles or joints are loose or wobbly, you should ask your physio or doctor for a replacement. If you are not sure the height is right, ask your physio to set it.

Start in a clear hallway, and put a chair at the far end so you have somewhere to sit. To turn, walk round in small steps with the frame rather than twisting on one foot. Move rugs, cables and clutter out of the way. Wear flat shoes that fit well and grip the floor, not socks, tights or bare feet.

If you have fallen in the past year or feel unsteady, have another adult walk beside you until your physio says you can practice alone. Getting up from a chair to the frame safely is covered in sit to stand using armrests.

After an operation or a broken bone in the leg, walk only in the way your surgeon or physio has taught you. Some weight-bearing plans let the weaker leg take only part of your weight for a time, and the frame is how you keep to that. If you have been told to keep all your weight off the leg, this pattern is not the right one, and your physio will teach you a different way to use the frame. After a hip replacement, also follow the movement advice your surgical team gave you.

Stay with the frame until your physio says you are ready for a cane. A standard frame needs a firm grip in both hands, so if one arm or hand is weak, for example after a stroke, your physio may choose a different walking aid.

A sudden loss of balance is different. Call emergency services straight away for any sign of a stroke, even if it goes away: sudden dizziness with unsteadiness or falling over, a face that droops on one side, an arm you cannot lift or keep up, slurred or muddled speech, weakness or numbness on one side of your body or face, sudden blurred vision, double vision or loss of sight, or a sudden severe headache. If one side is already weak or numb from an earlier stroke, new or suddenly worse weakness or numbness is a sign, and every other sign in this list still counts. This page explains the general technique, not a stroke rehab program.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-28.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Step to walking with a walker