How does the steps I am taking while crutches get counted on by fitbit?

[itsaleggthing]

I have had leg surgery and my intention was to use my fitbit so I can track steps each day to see movement and improvement.  However it does not appear to be logging my steps, yesterday I did not walk 58 steps but this is what my fitbit is saying

Is there a certain 'way' I can walk with the crutches that will get my steps counted by fitbit

[LucyAP]

Nice to see you here @itsaleggthing! Fitbit trackers use a 3-axis accelerometer to understand your motions. An accelerometer is a device that turns movement (acceleration) into digital measurements (data) when attached to the body. 

The algorithm is designed to look for motion patterns that are most indicative of people walking. The algorithm determines whether a motion's size is large enough by setting a threshold. If the motion and its subsequent acceleration measurement meet the threshold, the motion will be counted as a step. If the threshold is not met, the motion won’t be counted as a step. Other factors can create enough acceleration to meet our threshold and cause some over counting of steps, such as riding on a bumpy road. Equally, it's possible for the algorithm to undercount (not meet the required acceleration threshold).

Keep in mind that factors such as tracker placement, and stride length can all affect the number of steps recorded. Note that if you're pushing a stroller or shopping cart, you might try putting your wrist-based tracker in your pocket.

However, to make sure that your tracker is working correctly you can restart it. 

I hope this helps, keep me posted! 🙂 

[SunsetRunner]

I've just done a few experiments with some crutches that we keep around. I used what is apparently called the "swing-to" gait: both crutches out front, swing body to upright position between them, repeat.

Attaching the Zip to the crutch itself, rather than to your body, seemed to consistently count each step taken with the crutch as two steps. The Zip counted steps this way when it is attached anywhere between the handgrip of the crutch and approximately 12 inches above the bottom of the crutch.

So, when attached to a crutch, the Zip will show twice as many steps, as taken by the crutch, as actually occurred. It seems pretty consistent about this.

Incidentally, if you're geeking out about this, this is the same style of counting that you get from a Zip if you attach it to your shoe, except that in that case, the step count is accurate (because for each step one leg takes, the other leg takes one, too). It makes me wonder if this is an intentional feature that is just too tedious to document, but is entirely natural in application.