---
title: "What Is Ambulation? Home Care Glossary | HomeCare.com"
description: "Ambulation means walking from place to place, with or without a cane, walker, or help from another person. Doctors and care teams use the word when they..."
url: https://homecare.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/ambulation/
publisher: HomeCare.com
phone: 800-974-3458
start: https://care.homecare.com/?source=homecare.com
---

Daily living and health

# Ambulation

Ambulation means walking from place to place, with or without a cane, walker, or help from another person. Doctors and care teams use the word when they assess how well a person moves. Weakness, pain, or balance trouble can limit it.

## Why it matters for your family

Ambulation tells a care team whether a person can get around the home safely. Notes might say walks with a walker or needs one-person assist. Families can use the same terms when they talk to doctors. A person who walks less often loses strength, which raises fall risk. A common mistake is letting someone stop walking because they once fell. A therapist can set a safe plan. Caregivers can walk beside a person, clear paths, and watch for tiredness. HomeCare.com advanced companion care includes walking assistance, with no medical treatment.

Source: [cdc.gov](https://www.cdc.gov/falls/data-research/facts-stats/index.html)

[Read more: Personal and advanced care](https://homecare.preview.multisites.ai/personal-care/)

## Related terms

-   [**Mobility assistance**Mobility assistance is help with moving around, such as standing up, walking, using stairs, and getting in and out of a bed, chair, or car.](https://homecare.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/mobility-assistance/)
-   [**Walker**A walker is a frame with four legs that a person grips to steady themselves while walking.](https://homecare.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/walker/)
-   [**Rollator**A rollator is a walking aid with three or four wheels, hand brakes and often a built-in seat.](https://homecare.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/rollator/)
-   [**Fall risk**Fall risk is the chance that a person will fall and be hurt.](https://homecare.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/fall-risk/)
-   [**Transferring**Transferring, as an activity of daily living, means moving between surfaces, such as bed to chair, chair to standing, or wheelchair to toilet.](https://homecare.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/transferring/)
-   [**Rehabilitation care**Rehabilitation care is therapy that helps a person regain strength, movement, speech, or daily skills after an illness, injury, or surgery.](https://homecare.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/rehabilitation-care/)

[All glossary terms](https://homecare.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/)

## Talk to a care advisor today.

Free consultation. No minimums, no contracts.

[800-974-3458](tel:+18009743458)

[Call a care advisor](tel:+18009743458)[Find a caregiver online](https://care.homecare.com/?source=homecare.com)

![A caregiver and an older woman looking at a tablet together](https://homecare.preview.multisites.ai/_astro/personal-hero.DqUYygP8_1Sv1FH.webp)