Learning to Live With a Prosthetic Arm
Almost half of all amputation surgeries in the U.S. each year address upper body amputations. And thousands of these surgeries mean that thousands of patients are left yearning for a quality of life similar to what they had before surgery. That’s where prosthetics come in and there is a lot to know about the process of learning to live with a prosthetic arm.
Pre-surgery and your prosthetic arm Palm Beach Gardens
There are important steps that you can take pre-surgery to make learning to live with a prosthetic arm an easier process. Your doctor may recommend pre-surgical physical therapy that will work to build strength and flexibility in the location of an amputation. Physical therapy might also include ways to strengthen your other arm for use during the healing time after surgery.
What to expect after surgery?
Once the amputation surgery is completed, your medical team will switch focus toward healing. Once the team has determined that your residual limb is healed enough, you will be cleared to start the process of post-surgical rehabilitation. During the rehab process, you’ll learn long term care for your residual limb, and you’ll begin the process of learning to live with a prosthetic arm Palm Beach Gardens.
Choosing a prosthetic arm
Not all arm prosthetics are created equally, and choosing the right one for you will take consideration, education, and help from your medical team. This process could start as soon as two weeks after surgery, so thinking about this before surgery is a good move. Your lifestyle might dictate what kind of prosthetic you ultimately end up with and you’ll consider devices in several categories including: passive prosthetics, myoelectric prosthetics, body powered prosthetics, hybrid versions, and activity-specific prosthetics.
Advancements in prosthetics
The world of prosthetics is an exciting and rapidly changing world. Amputee patients these days have so many types of devices from which to choose and the final outcome won’t be anything near what your grandparents might have had. The medical specialty evolves everyday with new and exciting technologies to help improve the quality of life for amputation patients everywhere.
