Noisy New Leg

[pelly]

Hello all,

Three days ago I got my first grown up Prosthetic leg, 19 months after amputation. Up until now I have had a suspension sleeve, but am now the proud owner of a pin lock system. It feels so much more stable and lighter.
Now to the point of my posting for some help and advice. Wind. Every time I take a step I sound like I have been eating beans all day. My socket fa**s every step and the effect is more spectacular when climbing the stairs.
Any advice or tips? other than apologizing and making a rapid exit (noisily) from the room.

[allenuk]

Hello Pelly.

Couple of possible solutions:

One, wear a nylon sock immediately next to your socket. It breaks down the air flow up from the pin end, and usually cuts out the farting noises. You can get special socks from your limb-fitting centre, but if you take a pair of tights, cut them in half, lose the 'pants' part, and finally cut a tiny hole in the toe for your pin to go through, they will do just as well. (Often a stump sock will do the job, but if you've got a nice fit already, you don't want to screw it up with extra layers - the nylon/tights won't matter, as they're so thin).

If you do go down the tights route, then seal the new pin hole, otherwise it'll ladder and break down quickly. Either use nail varnish, or sew around the hole with some very strong thread (button thread, or dental floss).

Another way is to cut a piece of rubber (or similar) and glue it onto your socket, with a hole so that the pin release button sticks out - this has to be a tight fit. Then, this new rubber 'flap' will suck in and push out as you walk and air is taken into the top of the socket, but it will again cut down your unwanted noises.

Let us know how you get on.


Allen, bka, pinlock (quiet).

[pelly]

Hello Allen,
I shall try the nylon stocking route first. I guess I will have to wait until the wife is out before trying on her tights ;-0
I will let you know the outcome in a while.

David

[pelly]

Allen you star!!

I am now walking silently. The stocking trick worked a treat.

Regards
David

[allenuk]

Right-ho David, glad to hear it.

Now the caveat.

Watch out that you've made a nice neat job of the pin end of the stocking. You don't want to get bits of stocking getting pulled off and taken down into the pin mechanism - it's a very simple spring click mechanism, but get a bit of sock, stocking, or whatever, down the wrong part, and it can lock up - meaning you'll have a hell of a job getting your leg off!

Allen.

[pelly]

Okay, now fart free and got some proper nylon socks from the limb Centre. Unfortunately the fit of the socket isn't great, Its taken off skin behind my knee and bunching of the liner means I can't ride my bike. back to limb centre. Disappointed.

David

[barclay]

This - getting the fit of the leg right- is just a frustrating part of life. Even once you have a great fitting prosthesis, your leg will change (at leas mine does) and then you need another new one. But, this does get better with time - I had four new sockets in the first two years and only two in the last three.

[allenuk]

David: have a look at this

amputeecycling.blogspot.co.uk/

which might help. Basically, it's about my solution to riding a bike, which is essentially to modify your BIKE rather than your leg. You can, of course, try and get your prosthetist to cut half an inch off your socket behind your knee, which might well do the trick (although many prosthetists will argue, probably wrongly, that it will adversely affect your walking), but you can do mods. to your bike which will do a similar job - a saddle raising/lowering device means that your knee doesn't get so bunched up. This, combined with a crank shortener and one or two other bits, has kept me in the saddle.

Most BKAs can ride bikes, as long as they haven't got suction sockets, and even then there are ways round it.


Allen.