Using a reacher grabber for dressing is one of the most important applications of the tool for post-surgical patients, particularly those with hip replacement precautions. The forward-bending movement required to put on pants, socks, and shoes is precisely the movement that hip precautions prohibit and that back surgery restrictions limit. A reacher grabber, used with proper technique, allows most of the lower body dressing sequence to be completed without violating the 90-degree hip restriction -- though a complete independence dressing sequence for hip replacement also requires a sock aid and long-handled shoehorn as complementary tools.
Dressing With a Reacher: Step-by-Step Technique
Putting On Pants
- Sit on the edge of the bed or a stable chair. Keep your hips higher than your knees -- do not sink into a low surface.
- Hold the reacher in your stronger hand. Use the jaw to grip the waistband of the pants at the front.
- Lower the pants using the reacher toward the surgical leg first -- thread the pants over the foot of the surgical leg without bending forward.
- Thread the pants over the non-surgical foot using the reacher or your hands (the non-surgical side has no restriction).
- Use the reacher to pull the pants up to knee height on both sides.
- Stand up carefully -- use a grab bar or bed rail to assist. Once standing, pull the pants up to the waist by hand.
Putting On Socks (With Sock Aid)
A reacher alone cannot put socks on -- the sock opening is too small for the jaw to thread onto the foot. A sock aid (a plastic cone with long cords) is used in combination: the sock is loaded onto the cone, the cone is lowered to the floor with the cords, the foot slides in, and the cords pull the cone out leaving the sock on the foot. The reacher then helps adjust the sock if it is not fully on.
Putting On Shoes
Use a long-handled shoehorn (18 inches minimum) for the heel guidance. A reacher can position slip-on shoes near the foot and help adjust the shoe, but the shoehorn is the primary tool for heel insertion. Velcro shoes eliminate the lacing that standard shoes require. The reacher can pick up a dropped shoe from the floor without bending.
Common Reacher Dressing Mistakes to Avoid
- Bending forward while the reacher is in use -- defeats the purpose
- Gripping clothing too high (at shirt rather than pants waistband) -- wrong position
- Using a reacher shorter than the distance from hand to floor
- Trying to put on socks with a reacher alone without a sock aid
See the GrabbersTool 32-inch Reacher and 43-inch Reacher for the length appropriate to your height. Browse the full reacher collection.
