Support Cane Used with Long "Probing" Cane
When people need a support cane to provide physical support, and also need a long cane to find out what's on the ground ahead of them because they can't see well enough, they use two canes -- one for support, and one to reach ahead and find out if there are any hazards (what I call a "probing" cane). Although it may seem awkward, most people are able to quickly learn how to move the canes correctly.

Photo shows a woman entering a crosswalk. She has ace bandages around both of her wrists, and is supporting herself with a support cane in her right hand close to her body, and reaching a long white cane ahead of her with her left hand (her right foot is forward, and the tip of the long cane is far in front of her left foot). The woman has completed the crossing and is stepping out of the crosswalk. She is still supporting herself with a support cane with a curved handle in her right hand, and reaching the long white cane ahead of her with her left hand (again her right foot is forward, and the tip of the long cane is reaching far ahead to her left). Photo shows the woman walking along a sidewalk, supporting herself with a support cane in her right hand, and reaching a long white cane ahead of her with her left hand (her right foot is forward, and the tip of the long cane is far in front of her left foot). The woman continues to walk on the sidewalk, but this time her left foot is forward, and the tip of the long cane is far in front of her right foot. The support cane remains close to her right side.
This woman lives in Maryland, and has been using two canes to travel for many years. With one hand, she moves the white "probing" cane in an arc in front of her, in rhythm with her feet, just as people who use one long ("probing") cane do. With her other hand, she moves a support cane the same way that people who use a support cane do.

Techniques for going up and down stairs with both canes should be developed with the physical therapist and O&M specialist together with the client. Some people hold both canes in one hand while holding the rail with the other. Below, this woman shows how she does it. [grateful appreciation to Sue Boaz for being photographed]

Photo shows woman at bottom of stairs, with the support cane in her right hand and long white cane in her left hand, both canes are held vertically. Her right leg is still on the ground and her left leg and both canes are on the first step. Now both feet are on the first step, and so is her support cane -- her long cane is on the next step ahead of her (the second step). One foot remains on the first step and her other foot is on the second step. The support cane is also on the second step, while the long white cane is on top of the third step.
The woman is now getting ready to descend the stairs, and is standing about 4 feet away from the top. Her long white cane has reached the edge of the top stair, and her support cane is close beside her on the right. The woman is standing on the top of the stairs, with her support cane beside her. The long white cane is touching the top of the next step. The woman's left foot is now on the next step, her right foot and her support cane are still on the top step. The long white cane is reaching over the edge of the step that her left foot is standing on. Both feet and the support cane are on the next step, and her long white cane is reaching down to the top of the third step below.
Photo shows a man wearing white dress shirt and dark slacks, walking through an opening in a barbed-wire fence that is taller than he is. In his right hand is a white support cane that is taller than his waist and has a curved handle, in his left hand is a long white cane with crook and black handle, and a bundu basher tip at the bottom.


These photos show two men who live in South Africa. They each use one cane for support, and one cane to probe ahead of them. The probing cane has a special tip, the "bundu basher," designed to travel in rural areas.

In the pictures below, one of the men is following a fence to find the opening into his church. He supports himself with a cane in his right hand, and his left hand uses a long cane to search ahead for the end of the fence.

South African photos courtesy of Moira Higgerty
Both photos show a man wearing a white T-shirt with a collar, grey slacks, and an orange baseball cap, walking along a dirt road lined with a barbed-wire fence about a high as his shoulder -- on the other side of the fence are fields of yellow grass about as tall as his chest, and beyond that are a half-dozen one-story buildings and green hills beyond them. He uses a white support cane with his right hand, and with his left hand he reaches a long white cane with a bundu basher tip toward the fence. In this photo, the man with the white support cane and the long white cane with a bundu basher tip has reached an opening in the fence and we can see part of a building or large tent on the other side of the fence.


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