Absolutely this. I resisted until a friend showed up at my door one day with a cane and told me he was sick of seeing me stagger around and to use the fucking thing. That pushed me to find and use the cane I have now which works MUCH better for me.
I had to nearly smash my face on a monument at Gettysburg in my twenties because I almost fainted before I finally made carrying my cane a huge part of my personal style and now I look dapper AF, so I can only recommend them. I would buy everyone who kinda sorta wants one a cane if I could.
I know you have joint probs, so how do you deal with any hand or wrist pain from leaning your weight om the cane?
Is it a problem at all? It's something i worry about if I eventually need one
Because I rarely, almost never, stand around leaning my whole weight onto the cane, there's really no wrist pain for me. My cane is pretty heavy (over a pound) but I don't get hand fatigue unless I'm using a cane with a squishy handle.
The way I hold my cane accomodates the dynamic motion of swinging my cane (I swing it more than other people I know), which also helps avoid wrist pain bc it's not a static pose, as well. It's hard to explain? It's like how wearing shoes that fit doesn't make my legs tired by itself.
Also make sure the cane is the right length so you can lean on it fully from the back of your palm and with a straight arm so you lock the elbow and the line of force goes up the bone (well it works that way for me)
That can mean getting either a less-stylish but adjustable cane, getting one made custom, or sawing one off until it's the correct distance from your palm to the ground (and don't forget that cane tips add length to the cane and you'll need them for ordinary use to reduce slippage).
