A prosthetic leg may attach above or below the knee, depending on how much of the leg is missing. Losing a limb is a scary experience for many people, and the thought of using an artificial replacement can be overwhelming. In this blog, we want to help calm your nerves by providing information about what you should know about prosthetic legs before getting one.
- Are You A Good Candidate for a Prosthetic Leg?
- How Long Does It Take To Adapt To A Prosthetic Leg?
- How Painful Is A Prosthetic Leg?
- How Hard Is It To Drive With A Prosthetic Leg?
- How Many Hours Can You Wear A Prosthetic Leg?
- Can I Shower With A Prosthetic Leg?
Are You A Good Candidate for a Prosthetic Leg?
When you have your initial consultation with a prosthetic professional, they will look at several factors to determine if a prosthetic leg is right for you. They’ll want to see how much soft tissue is available to cushion the remaining bone. If there’s not enough, this can result in pain and discomfort while wearing the prosthetic.
Similarly, they’ll consider the range of motion in the residual limb, which will play a role in how well the prosthetic can move. These questions don’t necessarily say you can or cannot have a prosthetic leg. Instead, they can help navigate the best type of prosthetic for you and give you an idea of how realistic specific mobility goals are.
How Long Does It Take To Adapt To A Prosthetic Leg?
On average, some patients may take up to a year to fully adapt to their prosthetic leg, including consistent meetings with a physical therapist. To learn to walk and move again. You will also attend appointments to adjust your prosthetic for optimal comfort and movement as your body changes.
How Painful Is A Prosthetic Leg?
Prosthetics are designed to avoid pain. Their material and functions are meant to be as comfortable as possible for the user. That said, people still experience discomfort and require fittings to change certain parts of their prosthetics.
Remember that a prosthetic is being introduced to the rest of your body as a new part, which can take time to adjust to. Be open and honest with your doctor at follow-up appointments so they can adjust your prosthetic to fit you best.
How Hard Is It To Drive With A Prosthetic Leg?
People with prosthetic legs can sometimes drive using the standard pedals. For most, driving requires learning new limb movements. Cars can also receive special vehicle modifications so that you can drive safely, such as hand controls or left-foot accelerators.
How Many Hours Can You Wear A Prosthetic Leg?
When you first receive your prosthetic leg, you’ll follow a schedule of wearing and giving your body a break. This might look like wearing the prosthetic leg in 30 minutes-intervals on day one, totaling two hours worn total, and then upping this to 4 hours and 30 minutes broken into increments by day four. You never want to rush into wearing your prosthetic leg full time because this doesn’t give your body the proper time to get used to it, resulting in unnecessary pain and discomfort.
Can I Shower With A Prosthetic Leg?
You can shower with a prosthetic leg, but it can be difficult to clean the residual limb covered by the prosthetic. It’s recommended that the residual limb be thoroughly cleaned every day to prevent infection. Removing your prosthetic to shower also allows you to inspect the residual limb for any blisters or wounds that need to be addressed.
Get Started With Your Custom-Made Prosthetic At Pongratz
Many individuals on our team know what it’s like living with limb loss and understand the importance of overcoming the challenges along the way. We’re here to support you by providing custom-made prosthetics for optimal comfort and functionality for your particular lifestyle.
Our services include:
- Upper Extremity Prosthetics
- Lower Limb Prosthetics
- Pressure Garments for Burns
- Plagiocephaly Cranial Bands
- Mastectomy
- Pediatric Orthotics
- Custom Orthotics
Contact our team today to learn how we can serve you.
