Prosthetic limbs are well-made equipment that helps humanity in today’s date and age. Doctors and medical designers spend years developing and designing various types of limbs so that amputees could lead a normal life just like we do.
Prosthetic research is evolving more than ever now. This has made doctors provide the best prosthetic limbs to amputees after the life-altering surgeries. Artificial limbs that doctors develop today are the most reliable ones and way better than the predecessors but that does not mean that they eliminate all the issues that the amputees are bound to face.
The prosthetics are not accident-free and there might be some common prosthetic issues that amputees face such as:
Intact Limb Pain
If an amputee overuses the intact limb, atypical and additional amounts of pressure and time borne down and cause complications and discomfort. Some symptoms of overuse syndrome in amputees are hip, knee and ankle pain along with degeneration of the lower part of back.
If an amputee has reported injuries to the intact limb, it becomes more necessary to design the prosthetic limb carefully. The designed prosthetic limb should be able to even the pressure and load and smooth out every taken step by an amputee.
Back Pain
Walking throughout life with a poorly designed prosthesis can cause long-lasting structural changes in your body. This could initiate muscular and neurological pain. Moreover, amputees/prosthesis users also encounter back pain at some point in their lives.
Consult your prosthetist immediately so that he can address the main cause of back pain. It could be due to many reasons, some of them being poorly-fit prosthesis, socket, ill-training and sub-optimal gait habits.
Prosthetic Not Meeting Your Needs
The first rule of getting a prosthetic is to ensure your safety. Once you are safe, you move on to the right prosthetic technology that could fulfill your needs of living a normal life. If you are still held back to do certain activities that you could do, you might not have the correct prosthetic technology.
Do you want to ski? Not a problem, there’s a prosthetic technology for that. There are various designs such as shock-absorbing prosthetics, walk-optimized prosthetics and etc.
Whatever your needs are, there’s technology out there. You just need to consult the right prosthetist.
Poor Balance and Instability
If an amputee has a fear of falling regardless of wearing his prosthesis, it might not be properly aligned. Years of use reduces the control over your prosthesis. If your socket fits well to your leg but you still do not feel comfortable taking steps, you need proper alignment to optimize your prosthesis. If you are having a hitch while walking or feel like walking on edge of your foot, you might need adjustments to your prosthesis to mitigate this issue.
Irritation and Skin Issues
Research studies indicate that 74% of the amputees suffer from skin issues associated with prosthesis wear. Sometimes, the issue is not so much to worry about but if left untreated, the skin issues can progress to a bigger level.
The skin issues and irritation might be caused due to a combination of pressure and mechanical friction. However, these issues can be mitigated by a well-fit socket.
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