Points to note before wearing the artificial limb.
1. Skin care: To keep your stump skin in good condition, you should do the following every night.
1). Use warm water and neutral soap to clean the skin.
2). Rinse the residual limbs thoroughly to avoid irritating your skin with soap. Do not immerse the residual limbs in warm water for a long time because it can soften your skin and cause edema.
3). Dry the skin thoroughly to avoid factors that can irritate the skin such as hard rubbing.
2. Matters needing attention
1). Gently massage the residual limb several times a day, which will help reduce the sensitivity of the residual limb and increase the tolerance of the residual limb to pressure.
2). Avoid shaving the skin of residual limbs or using detergents and skin creams, etc., which may irritate the skin and cause rashes.
3. Wrapped stumps Wrapped elastic bandages to shrink and shape the stump to prepare for the assembly of the prosthesis. With a dry bandage, the residual limb should also be dry. All time should be wrapped with elastic bandages, day and night, except when taking a bath, massaging a stump or exercising.
1). When winding elastic bandages, they should be wound obliquely instead of horizontally.
2). Do not wind in the same direction at the end of the residual limb, as this will easily cause skin wrinkles at the scar, but should alternately cover the inside and outside for continuous winding.
3). Continue to wind obliquely, and the end of the residual limb should be wrapped as firmly as possible under pressure.
4). When winding to the direction of the thigh, the bandage pressure should be gradually reduced.
5). The bandage winding should extend above the knee joint and at least wrap around the kneecap.
6). Return to below the knee joint. If the bandage remains, it should end obliquely above the end of the residual limb. Fix the bandage with adhesive tape and avoid using pins. Re-wrap the residual limb every 3 to 4 hours, such as bandage slipping or pleating, it should be wrapped at any time.
4. The treatment of elastic bandages, the use of clean elastic bandages helps prevent skin problems.
1). The elastic bandage should be cleaned after being used for more than 48 hours. Use neutral soap and warm water to wash the elastic bandage by hand and thoroughly wash with clean water. Do not twist the bandage hard.
2). Spread the elastic bandage on a smooth surface and dry it to avoid damage to the elasticity. Avoid direct heat radiation and direct sunlight. Do not place in a desiccator or hang to dry.
5. Posture According to the following postures, you can get sufficient movement of your residual limbs and maintain the correct position of the elastic bandage.
1). Lie on your back. Take this position whenever you lie on your back. Lie on a rigid bed. Do not place pillows under the stump. Keep the stump on the bed and straighten your knees. together.
2). Prone, when you prone, you should take the following posture, lying on the hard board, keeping the hips lying on the bed, straighten the knee joint, legs together.
3). Sitting position, avoid sitting for a long time, should pay attention to the following matters when sitting: sitting in a hard chair, standing upright, the center of gravity falls on both hips. Lay the stump on another hard chair. Keep your knees straight and avoid crossing your legs.
6. Exercise In order to maintain or enhance the strength and elasticity of muscles, residual limb exercises should be performed under the guidance of a physical therapist. Lift the elastic bandage during exercise and maintain normal breathing during exercise.
1). Flex the hip, lift the stump to the chest, and bend the knee joint. Keep the healthy leg lying flat on the bed, then straighten the knee of the residual limb on the bed, then rest, and repeat this action several times.
2). Straighten the leg, straighten the knee joint on the side of the residual limb, and lift the residual limb toward the roof. Keep the healthy leg lying flat on the bed, and then lower the residual limb. Do not bend the knee joint while lifting or lowering the residual limb. Then rest and repeat this action several times.
3). To extend the hip, first bend the two legs toward the chest, pull the healthy leg with your hand and press firmly against the chest, and put the residual limb down on the bed plate and press it firmly against the bed plate to keep the knee joint straight. Keep this state one breath and one breath five times, then relax and repeat this action several times.
4). When the hip is stretched out, place a small towel roll under the end of the residual limb, and press the towel down until the buttocks leave the bed surface. Hold this position and breathe 5 times, then relax and repeat this exercise several times.
5). Adduction of the hip joint-abduction. Place the towel roll between the thighs. The residual limb should be as far away as possible from the healthy side leg. Make sure that the knee joint faces the roof. Then retract the residual limb and squeeze the towel roll. , Repeat this action 5 times, rest.
6). Wait for the abduction-adduction, place a towel roll between the thighs, tie the legs together with a strap at least two inches wide, try to force the legs apart, and keep this posture to breathe 5 Then, clamp the towel rolls on both legs and breathe 5 times in this position. Rest and repeat the exercise.
7). Quadriceps training, tighten the thigh muscles on the side of the residual limb, and the knee joint is straightened and pressed against the bed plate, so that the patella slides up and breathes 5 times in this position. Then relax and repeat the exercise.
8). Knee extension and flexion exercise, legs close together in the prone position, bend the knee joint on the side of the residual limb, and lift the thighs away from the bed board, while keeping the hips flat on the bed board, breathing 5 times in this position. Then relax and repeat the exercise.
9). Stretch your hips and knees, stretch your legs together in the prone position, lift the stumps away from the bed, keep your knees straight, and keep your hips off the bed. Hold this position for 5 breaths, then relax and repeat the exercise.
10). Training gluteal muscles, tighten the hips, keep breathing 5 times in this action, and then relax, repeat training several times.
11). Knee flexion, prone bed, legs together and straight, hips do not leave the bed, bend the knee joint on the side of the residual limb, bend the knee as much as possible. Hold this action for 5 breaths, then relax and repeat training.
12). Hip abduction, lateral decubitus position, raise the residual limb with the knee facing forward. Do not allow the hip to roll back and forth. Keep the residual limb up for 5 breaths, then rest, and repeat the exercise several times.
13). Extend the hips and put the residual limbs on the side in the lateral lying position, forcing the residual limbs to extend backward, keeping the knee joint straight and the knees facing forward. Don't let the hip roll back and forth, keep this action for 5 breaths. Rest and repeat the exercise several times.
14). Stretch your knees and sit on a hard chair. Your upper body is straight and the center of gravity falls on your hips. Keep the thighs touching the chair surface and straighten the knee joint. Hold 5 breaths. Relax and repeat the exercise several times.
7. Walking, as much activity as possible, this will help maintain your muscle strength and fatigue resistance. Keep elastic bandages when walking.
1). If you use a walker, check your walker to ensure that it is safe to use. Check whether the rubber tip on the top of the walker is worn, and the legs of the walker should be kept the same height. The stump should be close to the healthy leg and perpendicular to the ground. Straighten the knee joint, do not rest the residual limb on the crossbar of the walker.
2). If you are walking with crutches, check your crutches to make sure they are safe to use and see if the tip of the crutches is worn. The handrail of the crutches should be firm, and there should not be any loose screws on the crutches. Keep the residual limb close to the healthy leg and perpendicular to the ground. Straighten the knee joint and do not rest the stump on the crutches.
8. Matters needing attention: Try to do
1). Clean the residual limb every night.
2). All time the residual limb should be wrapped with elastic bandage.
3). Frequent rewrapping of residual limbs.
4). Regularly clean the elastic bandage.
5). Walk as much as possible.
6). Exercise regularly to keep the stump strong and powerful.
7). Maintain the mobility of the residual limb in an appropriate position.
8). Keep the knee straight while walking, sitting and lying down.
9. Taboo
1). Soak the residual limb.
2). Shave the residual limb.
3). Apply detergent to the residual limb.
4). Sitting for a long time.
5). The stump rests on the healthy leg when sitting.
6). Put the stump on the armrest of the chair when sitting.
7). Put the residual limb on the crutches armrest or walker to rest.
