Prosthetic Feet / Ankle

[Wildman]

So I know just a little while ago I had posted about not being able to wear my prosthetic leg becasue of a sore on my residual limb. Good news is it is healed now.

So being a new amputee I am still learning all about how things work and all the options available to me. Back in December I had asked the VA about getting a different ankle because my current one throw my knee around when I am walking on uneven ground. There isn't any currently available ankles on the market that can duplicate all the movement of your real ankle. This is always one of the issues when you have an amputation either below the knee (BKA) or above the knee (AKA) and you use which leg first initial to indicate which leg so I am a RBKA.

So back to the VA. I had asked about getting a different ankle because right now I have what is called a Fix Angle Prosthetic.

So the VA enrolled me in a 3 foot/ankle study where I am going to get to try out 3 different types/styles of ankles. I went to the VA last week to get fitted to each of the new sockets and to get my height dialed in on each new ankle. On a random selection it was decided which ankle I came home with last week. And as luck would have it I came home with the same ankle I have been using up til now. This coming Tuesday I will be going back and coming home with a different ankle. I do this for 3 weeks and then after wearing each ankle for a week and giving my evaluation of what I liked and disliked.

So now my other two ankles are:
1) Mechanical/Hydraulic
2) Computerized/Electronic: Biggest issue with this ankle is that the charge on it will only last 4-6 hours depending on how much you use it. You do have spare batteries but I'm thinking on a camping trip how I would recharge the battery. And you can not get it wet like you can either of the other two ankles.

Since I haven't worn either of these other two ankles but for about 20 minutes each I can't say what I think of them yet. From the short time I was allowed to wear them I liked the mechanical one better. The computerized ankle weighed a lot more than either of the other two. The only way I can explain it is for you to wear a 4 or 5 lb ankle weight on one leg for a day. Imagine swinging that much weight off the bottom of your leg every time you are walking.
Once I have worn each ankle for a week I then go home with all three ankles for a month. They will each have step counters on them to monitor which one I wear the most. Then I go back and give them an evaluation on all three, unfortunately I do not get to keep all three ankles when the study is over with but it does give me the chance to try 3 different ankles out. And when the study is done with then I can make an educated decision on which ankle I would like to have next.

So I forgot to explain my current ankle/foot. It is a fixed ankle meaning it doesn't have any bend to front or back. Nor any side to side. If I lived in the city it would most likely be a good ankle for me 90% of the time. It is made with 2 carbon fiber blades that loop under to act like leaf springs so that when you walk on it the force of your weight compresses the blades to help you walk easier.

 

[K0LCB]

Good luck, Bro! Your suffering might help someone

 

[Wildman]

Good luck, Bro! Your suffering might help someone

The purpose of this study is to help the VA know which type of ankle to give someone for different types of activates and which ankle is preferred. They are doing this study with 120 veterans all across the US. Living in a rural setting makes me a little different than some. Plus the type of activities I enjoy makes me a lot different they say.
I'll post new pictures of my NEW ankle on Tuesday or Wednesday. .

 

[Mike_H]

Kudos to for not giving up. It's quite inspiring, and a good lesson to remember when something seems "hard."

I have a buddy who was born with a deformed right leg. His is amputated below the knee too. I met him through my hockey league. He skates like the wind!

I also saw a guy running a 10k footrace on one of those spring legs. Stuff like that really gets to me and makes me count my blessings.

 

[Wildman]

Yes those running blades are AWESOME. What I have is just a smaller version of them.

 

[S.McArthur]

I wish the VA would do something about my ankle, I feel like a wimp compared to a one foot bandit, but damn this is ankle is painful and really causes some issues with my knee/hip. But, I really don't want to learn how to walk again and I'm sure it would be a huge hindrance to my hunting plans.
Hope the VA does right by you, too many horror stories of people getting lost in the system.

Can we call you Lt. Wildman and give you and ice cream cone?

 

[06lj]

Keep us posted. I work with amputees often but haven't had a chance to see one of the computerized limbs yet. Most people take their ankles granted and don't realize how much work they do. Good luck with the study. I very glad to hear the VA is investing time into making limb choices more open to an individuals life and environment.

 

[Wildman]

Well I'm sitting at the VA right now waiting for my appointment. We'll see which ankle I go home with this week.

 

[Wildman]

So I walked over 3,000 steps today while at the VA doing my evaluation of my current ankle. Then when I was done filling out all the questionnaires I got told which ankle I got to come home with today.
The articulating ankle was the pick this week. I call it the mechanical ankle because it moves but that isn't what they call it.

So if you look at the second picture you can see the two set screws on the left side. This is how you adjust how much tension it take to flex the joint for the heel and toe. It was amazing as they made adjustments to it how it change how it felt to walk on it. So far I this ankle the MOST. I walk almost naturally with it and don't have as much limp as I did with the fixed ankle. The other thing about this ankle is it only weighs 3.2 oz more than the fixed ankle. The fixed ankle weights 5.0 lbs so this isn't much heavier to have hanging off your leg. But we will see how I feel about it after wearing it for a week. Then next week I'll come home with the electronic/computerized ankle.

 

[Wildman]

Keep us posted. I work with amputees often but haven't had a chance to see one of the computerized limbs yet. Most people take their ankles granted and don't realize how much work they do. Good luck with the study. I very glad to hear the VA is investing time into making limb choices more open to an individuals life and environment.

The computerized ankle is a Ottobock EmPower ankle if you want to look it up.

https://www.ottobockus.com/prosthetics/lower-limb-prosthetics/solution-overview/empower-ankle/
This is the foot I have right now.

https://www.ossur.com/prosthetic-solutions/products/balance-solutions/k2-sensation-with-dp-flexion

 

[BugoutJeep]

As someone with 11 screws, a rod and a plate piecing together my lower leg, I hope I don't have complications in the years to come. I do find this stuff interesting since it could likely be me one day and I've always been fascinated with mechanics and at one time was trying to be a doctor and wanted to be a Special Forces Medic. I even dropped out of college for a semester trying to get into proper shape for SF until friends and family convinced me to finish my degree first.

It's interesting though that eventhough we think of electronics as lightweight, they're so often stuck with copper and dense materials, whereas mechanical there's composites, Ti, special steels, Al, etc to give us all kinds of options.

 

[Wildman]

Yes I really hadn't thought about the electronics being so heavy. But we will see if it being powered makes up for it being heavy.

My avatar is my leg. 12 screws holding my femur together along with a plate. That is what a 7.62 (.308) round does to your femur. I had my packet in for SF when I was stationed up in Alaska but had to not follow thru due to some life situations.

 

[BugoutJeep]

Well my lower left leg looks similar to your avatar, but from a Camry or Corolla while training for a triathlon, trying to keep up my fitness until I could graduate. I don't know what vehicle it was, I just woke up in the hospital with 4 broken vertebrae, busted teeth, and my leg was obviously covered so I couldn't see, which I knew from some basic medical stuff that that wasn't a good sign.

Life is certainly interesting. After that accident I wasn't able to join the military, especially because they were doing a draw down at the time. The injury so far hasn't been much of an issue. I'm still an avid trail runner when I get a chance and I've done a lot of rock climbing since. Of course really not leaving was probably for the better personally. Everyone else in the family that was able bodied is basically gone off somewhere working or in the military and there's lots to do. My job kept me away for a couple years, but nothing like military service and now it's rare I leave the office.

 

[Wildman]

Well my issues came not from the shattered femur or the femoral artery but from the damaged perineal nerve.
The Army doc's didn't realize I had never damage until the night before I went in for them to repair the femur.
I had go thru 20 debridement surgeries to clean out the gun shot wound. They had done a spinal block so I couldn't feel my leg (other than when the pain pump stopped) so I thought it was why I couldn't move my foot.

Then the night before the surgery to repair my femur they come in and ask me to move my toes and foot. Now I have been laying on my back for 3 weeks and my ankle and foot had been hanging down and I had even asked about before. So these doc's have this shocked look on their faces as I'm laying there. Then they all get this OSHIT look and the head surgeon is called down. So when I was taken in for surgery the next day they also did some exploratory surgery to try and find where the nerve was damaged. No such luck.

So then nerve conductivity studies. And THEY SUCK. My nerve stopped working about 4" below me knee. No real reason why or what happened but then over time the pain in my leg just got to the point I couldn't do anything. I fought with doctors for over 6 years trying to find one that would amputate my leg. Because of it being nerve related many didn't want to touch it.

I hope you don't ever have to go thru all this. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

 

[BugoutJeep]

Well my issues came not from the shattered femur or the femoral artery but from the damaged perineal nerve.
The Army doc's didn't realize I had never damage until the night before I went in for them to repair the femur.
I had go thru 20 debridement surgeries to clean out the gun shot wound. They had done a spinal block so I couldn't feel my leg (other than when the pain pump stopped) so I thought it was why I couldn't move my foot.

Then the night before the surgery to repair my femur they come in and ask me to move my toes and foot. Now I have been laying on my back for 3 weeks and my ankle and foot had been hanging down and I had even asked about before. So these doc's have this shocked look on their faces as I'm laying there. Then they all get this OSHIT look and the head surgeon is called down. So when I was taken in for surgery the next day they also did some exploratory surgery to try and find where the nerve was damaged. No such luck.

So then nerve conductivity studies. And THEY SUCK. My nerve stopped working about 4" below me knee. No real reason why or what happened but then over time the pain in my leg just got to the point I couldn't do anything. I fought with doctors for over 6 years trying to find one that would amputate my leg. Because of it being nerve related many didn't want to touch it.

I hope you don't ever have to go thru all this. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

I had minimal nerve damage when my leg was crushed. I just dealt with numbness on the top of my foot and where the bone came out. I did have to sign or agree to something before surgery about losing my leg, which at the time didn't seem like that big of a deal. I was just in between morphine for a few days and would have back spasms that either between the morphine or pain, I'd just pass out because they were happening around my broken vertebrae.

For the first year, I wasn't sure what function I'd get back in my leg, but now I assume I was just exhausting extremely weak muscles in my leg and it's almost like they'd just stop working after awhile. Not painful just really strange.

I do know what a 7.62 can do. I have always enjoyed hunting and I've seen wound channels in game you could put both fists in. I've seen bad shots take off shoulders and not penetrate as well and I've seen clean thru shots. In any case when lead and bone collide it sucks. I certainly don't wish it on anyone. Good luck and thanks for being on our side and your service.

 

[Wildman]

Well not foot related but yesterday I rode my Harley for the first time since my amputation. Because of how bad my nerve pain was I haven't ridden my Harley much in the 3 years before my amputation. It's a 2011 and only has 8,000 miles on it right now. I only rode it for about 20 minutes total but it was the BEST feeling to be back on it . And where before the vibration would kill my leg I now felt no pain at all.

On 9-12 May I am taking the basic motorcycle class and then doing the skill test on the 12th. Here in WA I have to show I can safely operate my bike after my amputation. I look forward to getting this done and then I can start enjoying my bike again.

 

[Wildman]

Back at the VA for my final ankle. Will post pictures and information about it tonight or tomorrow.

 

[SolarColumbia]

I have a transected ulnar nerve in my left arm above the elbow with some loss of hand function and constant burning sensation. It is significantly less annoying than it was 20 years ago, however. Glad to hear you are doing better.

 

[Wildman]

Howdy everyone,
What a day at the VA. I can't say it was any fun today but I did mange to walk 8,000 steps with all the walking I did. My average right now is 2,500 steps per day so hitting 8K is a lot for me. I received my last ankle in this study and it is an Ottobock EmPower. When I had signed up for this study I was expecting to REALLY like this ankle because it is powered and suppose to mimic your gait and help you to walk easier. I have only worn this ankle for about 6 hours so far and I HATE it. I don't feel it work well at all and it is way to heavy to be comfortable to wear all day long.

As I was walking into the VA I ran into a couple of Ossur reps that were there to demonstrate some of their products so I had a chance to talk with them. Ossur makes the ankle I was wearing last week and the ankle I have been wearing since my amputation. So with talking with these guys we were discussing the different electronic/computerized ankles on the market at this point. The one main HUGE issue that came up as we discussed these types of ankles is my activities such as Jeepin and what works or doesn't work. The ONE blaring issue with any of these electronic ankles is that none of them are waterproof. Many are water resistant but that is it. So if I was wearing one of these ankles and was to get stuck in mud or water and I had to get out of my Jeep to pull winchline I would ruin an EXPENSIVE ankle. So this right there makes it not work for me when I am Jeepin. The next issue is recharging the batteries. My club sometimes go on week long camping trips. I am tent camping right now so how would I recharge the batteries for the ankle. Yes maybe I could use a solar panel but I do live in the PNW where it does rain and is cloudy some days. The other drawback to these electronic ankles is that if I have to pick up a heavy part to move it across my garage I will likely damage the gears inside the ankle. So these are all things that I have to consider when it comes time to get a new ankle. The one good thing about the VA is that if I can justify a need for one type of ankle say for 70% of the time but need a different type ankle for that remaining 30% of the time they will authorize both ankles. But it does take some doing.

I thought I had posted a picture of each ankle sitting on my scale showing how much each one weighed but I guess I didn't. Once I get the other two ankles back next week I will post up pictures on my scale. For now you are just going to have to trust me. I'd listed the weights before but hadn't posted a picture.

These weights are with the boot and socket included as it is what I wear each day.
1) Fixed Ankle - 5lbs 0oz
2) Mechanical Ankle - 5lbs 2oz
3 Electronic Ankle - 7lbs 9.7oz

2lbs 7.7oz doesn't sound like a lot of weight until you are trying to swing it off the end of your leg all day long. So without further ado I'll post the pictures so you all can see what this looks like.

So I posted the pictures of it in my boots to show you the size of this thing. The two previous ankles are a lot less bulky.

So this button is what turns the ankle on or off. The little green light you can see on the lower right side of the button indicates that it is on. The down pointing chevrons on the left side are the battery strength indicators. 80% or more is the top and 20% less for each chevron after.

These two pictures are the rear of the ankle where it controls how much the toe will move down or up. When you are walking in the ankle it will also push off as you step to help you follow thru with your gait. To be honest yes it does help but to me the amount of assistance it is giving isn't enough to compensate for the added weight of the ankle.

This is where the battery attaches on the front of the ankle. You would have 3 batteries to go with the ankle but for the study they have only supplied two. Each battery is suppose to last 4-6 hours of use so we will see how long they last. 2 1/2 hours of the time I had this ankle on was spent driving and when you are driving you have to turn the ankle off to keep it from accidently moving on you.

This is what the battery looks like and it isn't light. I of course forgot to weigh the battery alone but will do so later.

 

[Wildman]

So I promised to post a picture of just the battery on my scale so here it is. 11.3 oz isn't a lot but it just shows why this ankle weighs as much as it does.

It too me 2 days to kill the first battery but I didn't walk on it much yesterday. It all just adds to the hassle of using this powered ankle. I can say for me it isn't worth it.