What to Know Before Getting a Prosthetic Arm

Acquiring a prosthetic arm isn’t as simple as putting on a piece of sports gear – there are plenty of considerations involved in the design, functionality, and fitting of a patient’s prosthesis that ultimately make it an ongoing process of acclimation and mastery.

If you’re interested in an upper extremity prosthesis, here’s what you should know before getting a prosthetic arm:

Comfortability

It can be easy to overlook the level of comfort you’ll require for your new prosthesis as you’ll likely be using it daily, all day long. It’s essential to assess any aspects of your prosthesis that may – over time – irritate and cause discomfort or pain.

You may be able to ignore it for the first few minutes or even an hour, but consider wearing it for 8 hours or longer. If the prosthesis feels uncomfortable during more extended periods of use, a follow-up appointment with your prosthetist can be scheduled for further adjustments to improve comfort and function.

What Will You Use It For?

Prostheses are tailor-made to the user, including daily activities that may require certain functions and certain environments and elements to which your prosthesis will be exposed. There are an array of prosthetic technologies available that can restore certain functions depending on your needs, so make sure that is communicated to your prosthetist.

Anticipate a “Wearing Schedule”

To ease you into your prosthesis, your prosthetist will prescribe a wearing schedule – times and durations set over a period of time that little-by-little increase the amount of time you wear your prosthesis, developing your endurance and overall comfort while making any required adjustments along the way. How long this process takes differs from person to person and may be slower for those requiring more time to develop their endurance with the prosthesis.