Free walking cane tools
Eighteen quick, free tools to help you check your fall risk, make your home safer, work out what level of support you need, choose and fit the right walking cane, know what one should cost and where to buy it, use it safely, and know when you no longer need it. No sign-up, no email.
Everything you need to walk safely — in one place
Staying on your feet involves three separate questions: what is happening with your balance and strength, what is happening in the places you walk, and what level of support actually fits. These free DaiWalk tools cover all three, then take you through choosing, pricing, fitting and using a cane if that turns out to be the answer. Every tool runs in your browser, needs no account, and takes about a minute.
Start with the fall risk self-assessment — an interactive version of the CDC STEADI checklist that gives you something concrete to take to your doctor — and the home fall hazard checklist, which turns the CDC Check for Safety brochure into a printable fix-it list for your own rooms. If you are not sure whether a cane is even the right device, Cane, Walker or Rollator? gives an honest read on the level of support you need, and the Do You Need a Cane self-assessment approaches the same question from another angle. From there, the Cane Finder narrows the choice. Set your size with the Cane Length Calculator or the Sizing Chart, confirm an existing cane fits with the Cane Height Check, or size one for someone else with the Gift Cane Size tool.
Before you spend anything, it is worth knowing what a walking cane should cost — the honest ranges from $18 drugstore canes to $430 hand-carved sticks, and where our own $75 sits in that — and where to buy a walking cane, which compares pharmacies, big-box stores, online marketplaces, medical supply stores and buying direct, including when Medicare will cover one.
Once it arrives, Which Hand + How to Use shows the correct technique, while the Wrist Pain Checker, Rubber Tip Size Finder and Tip Removal Wizard keep it comfortable. When you are recovering, the When Can You Stop readiness check helps you gauge when it may be safe to wean off — and for the numbers behind all of it, see our walking cane statistics.
