Amputee Life

Existing scientific evidence consists of various clinical reports describing drugs and interventional techniques to treat phantom limb pain. And recent approaches to restoring the patient's sensory-motor input have shown promise. One such promising treatment is electroacupuncture.

A new study sought to determine the prevalence of obesity in Dutch individuals with lower-limb loss. The study was published in the BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders journal in September 2021. The researchers also investigated the link between body mass index (BMI), body weight, and skin problems in the residual limb with the frequency of prosthetic repairs.

Most existing lower-limb prosthetic devices aren’t equipped to allow for mind-controlled balance or posture correction, increasing a prosthetic user’s chances of falling or making walking difficult. To solve this issue, the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) funded researchers to work on a prosthetic ankle that can be controlled by a user’s residual muscles—and the electrical signals they generate.

Amy Palmiero-Winters is proof that limb loss doesn't mean giving up on the things one loves. She began breaking world records a couple of years after losing her lower left leg in 1997, following a horrific motorcycle accident in 1994, and she shows no signs of stopping soon.

What if prosthetics were designed like wearable art? This question spurred Min Li, Xiaoyu Zhang, and Xiao Yang to design beautiful pieces attached to a prosthetic leg. Li and Zhang are the designers behind Chinese jewelry brand YVMIN and Yang is a prosthesis-wearing Chinese model and influencer.