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Glossary term

Weight-bearing

The act of supporting body weight through the limbs during standing or walking.

Updated 2026-03-011 alias1 sourceUsed across articles and safety pages

Definition

Weight-bearing describes how much load the clinical team permits through a limb. Terms can include non-weight-bearing, touch-down, partial, weight-bearing as tolerated, and full weight-bearing, but instructions should include an actual limit or functional description when ambiguity matters. The status depends on the exact fixation, phase, imaging, and patient and can change over time.

Aliases

WB

Updated 2026-03-01

Sources

Informational only. Not medical advice.

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