Amputee Life

How many times did you go in for a fitting before your prosthesis finally fit right? It usually takes several fittings and adjustments to get a socket fit that's great, but probably not perfect. The typical sockets being made today aren't easily adjustable once laminated. But Lizbeth López, a Brazilian biomedical engineer who lives in Mexico, saw a way to change that. She created a custom transtibial leg socket using 3D printing technology.  “The main objective of this work was to fabricate a complete functional prosthesis, in this case oriented to transtibial amputees as the first group of test patients,”...

A year ago, we decided to completely overhaul the Amputee Store website. Well, many cups of coffee later, it's nearly complete.  We wanted our site to be more than the traditional online medical store.  We wanted to change the way you shop, making the process as enjoyable and easy as buying everything else online. We went to great lengths to make sizing easier, with our DIY custom made mannequins that better demonstrate products, and to make buying amputee supplies online an easier process, with resources like buyer's guides (coming soon). Our new personal care guides will help you better understand...

You already know that the size and shape of your residual limb is constantly changing. Throughout your day, these subtle or not so subtle changes in volume mean your comfort level and prosthetic fit are fluctuating too.  Layering prosthetic socks is an easy way to adjust the volume of your socket, giving you a better, more consistent fit. A too tight or too loose socket can cause pain, abrasions, or other uncomfortable issues. Prosthetic socks not only affect volume, they act as padding, protect your skin from the effects of pressure and friction in the skin-socket interface, and can create...

 Some say it's just a word. Other people say whether to use it or not is up to the individual. "People who hate the word 'stub' for their amputated limb fret no more. Call it your PAL (post amputated limb)," proclaimed the Amputee Coalition on their Facebook page. Amps weighed in with a bunch of alternatives: they say "residual limb," "short leg," just "leg," " Nubby," even "Rita," as one of the commenters calls her arm. Residual limb is such a mouth full.  Why can’t we simply refer to a leg as a leg and an arm as an arm?...