Pay close attention to the skin behind your knee and on the bottom of your limb.ĭry your residual limb thoroughly. Using a washcloth, scrub gently over all surfaces of the residual limb. Use warm water and a mild antibacterial soap. Wash your residual limb at least once a day. Keeping your residual limb clean is vital to prevent skin problems and infection. This helps to ensure the prosthesis fits correctly. The prosthetist will monitor the changing size of your limb through the entire fitting process. Keep it pulled tight to maintain a snug fit at all times. Wear the shrinker sock as close to 24 hours a day as possible (except when bathing). This is a tapered sock that applies even pressure to the bottom of the residual limb. Wear the compression stocking (shrinker sock). Your healthcare provider will prescribe a compression stocking to shape your residual limb. This process is called “shaping” the residual limb. Swelling must be reduced so your residual limb will fit into the socket of a prosthesis. Residual limb shapingĮven after the surgical wound has healed, your residual limb can still be swollen. This helps prepare you for your first prosthesis fitting. As your tolerance improves, slowly increase pressure. This involves massaging, rubbing, and tapping the end of your residual limb. Touch and desensitizationĪt first, the skin on your residual limb will be sensitive to touch. Both legs need to be strong to walk with a prosthesis. It also ensures that your intact limb and residual limb are strong and flexible. Keep doing the exercises you were taught in the hospital. You need to keep the muscles in your residual limb strong and limber. Allowing it to move outward may make it difficult to walk with a prosthesis later. If the amputation is above the knee, keep your residual limb close to the intact leg. Keep your residual limb flat, with your knee as straight as you can. It’s important to spend 15 to 20 minutes proning several times a day.ĭon’t prop your residual limb on pillows or blankets when you sit or lie down. Proning stretches the muscles at the front of your hip. Spend time every day lying flat on your stomach (proning). When sitting in a wheelchair or a regular chair, you can use an “amputee board.” This is a flat board that sticks out to support the weight of your residual limb. When seated, always support your residual limb to keep it from dangling or hanging. To avoid contracture, you’ll need to keep your knee and hip as straight as you can. This helps prevent muscle shortening and tightening (contracture), which prevents full range of motion.
Keeping your residual limb in the right position is vital. During this time, keep these goals in mind:Ĭorrect positioning of your residual limb Now you can begin to prepare your residual limb for a prosthesis. The stitches or staples have come out, and the surgical wound has healed. Preparing Your Residual Limb for a Prosthesis