• Insurance Information
For Appointments Call: 772-337-7378
HealthFlex
×
  • Home
  • About
    • Our Staff
    • Locations
    • Fabrication
    • Insurance
    • Gallery
  • Orthotics
  • Prosthetics
  • Success Stories
  • Contact
  • Blog

How Do Prosthetics Work? Let the Experts Answer.

How Do Prosthetics Work? Let the Experts Answer.
February 3, 2020Nicole RizzoGeneral Newshow it works

For more than 185,000 Americans each year, facing the long road ahead following the amputation of a limb is a daunting prospect. Artificial limbs, also called prosthetics, are a lifesaver and can do so much to increase a patient’s quality of life and make life feel closer to normal again. If you’re a patient of loved one researching the process of creating, fitting and learning to use a prosthetic, here’s what you need to know. 

How do prosthetics work: how they’re made 

Because how much a prosthetic weighs is a very important factor for patient satisfaction, they’re usually made with the lightest weight materials, and that’s the beginning of how prosthetics work. Modern prosthetics for everyday use are typically fashioned out of some type of carbon fiber with a flesh-colored covering. Lightweight materials like titanium and aluminum are also used in their construction. These materials are formed together to fit a mold that has been made from the amputation site and specific patient measurements.  

Measurements and fittings

Once a patient is carefully fitted for their prosthetic device, the mold is cast, and a prosthetic is created, the first of many fittings will occur. Prosthetists will use these opportunities to fine-tune and improve upon how well the prosthetic fits the patient. Small adjustments will be made to the prosthetic based on the observations and findings in the fitting appointments before the patient is sent home with the final product.  

How do prosthetics work: learning to use them

Once your prosthetic emerges from the lab, you might be tempted to try it on for size and get moving. That’s not exactly how prosthetics work. Learning to live with a prosthetic, especially a leg or an arm, takes more patience because there is a learning process. Oftentimes, a patient will go through physical therapy with their prosthetic which makes it easier to learn to use the medical device and greatly impacts long term satisfaction with the device.

Recent Posts

  • Moving Around: Types of Prosthetic Limbs
  • What Are Orthotics and Prosthetics?
  • What Are the Different Types of Below-the-Knee Prosthetics?
  • What Are the 3 Types of Scoliosis?
  • What is Pediatric Orthosis?

Archives

  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019

Calendar

February 2020
M T W T F S S
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
242526272829  
« Jan   Mar »

Port Saint Lucie

1701 SE Hillmoor Dr. Suite C 13
Port St. Lucie, FL 34952

(772) 337-7378

Stuart

1111 SE Federal Hwy Ste 110
Stuart, FL 34994

(772) 781-8702

Palm Beach Gardens

10887 N Military Trl. Suite 2
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410

(561) 631-8000

© 2023 Main Street Media 360. All Rights Reserved.