IT IS known as “phantom limb syndrome” or “phantom pain”. But this strange phenomenon feels all too real to the people it affects, and can be agonisingly painful. Amputees and people who have become paralysed may still “feel” a missing limb or a part of their body, even though it is no longer connected to their nervous system. Yet such sensations offer confirmation that even when a limb has been severed or cut off from the nervous system, the nerves that once serviced it remain alive and well. Doctors are now finding ways to put these nerves to good use, by rewiring them to control prosthetic limbs or reanimate paralysed limbs.

A toddler who has had both legs amputated after contracting a deadly strain of meningitis may have to leave New Zealand because her mother is …
The double amputee clocked a time of 47.04 seconds at Crystal Palace to finish well clear of Britain’s Ian Jones, whose time was 51.65 sec. …
He and his two double-amputee teammates reached the summit of the Kenyan landmark Aug. 7 — the climax of a journey meant to inspire people with …

Members of the War Amps Child Amputee (Champ) Program helped mark the 35th anniversary of Champ through their participation in the Victoria Day Parade. …

The 45-year-old amputee who raised $13 million to fight cancer with a cross-Canada run that ended in 1989 was arrested Thursday …

Image by limbar2004 via Flickr

Patients May One Day Regrow Their Own Missing Limbs
The article describes how salamanders – which can regrow an entire limb – and other animals are providing clues to regenerating human limbs. Scientists, for instance, have discovered certain proteins and genes with key roles in regenerating lost …

The number below only reflect a very small amount of the annual amputations carried out and until now happened daily in the privacy of our own lives without being published.

At less than 1 amputee every 3 days, this small population of wounded soldiers has been the driving force behind the need for new prosthetic technology and advancements in rehabilitation producing some notable improvements in what had become a tired and outdated system.

Almost 70% of amputations are still caused through circulation issues that arise from health conditions that are mostly preventable.

A butcher has won a £250,000 payout after a series of medical blunders led to his leg being amutated.

Ian Watts from Rochester has been left severely disabled following the incident.

He was initially admitted to Medway Maritime Hospital with an infection in his little toe in 2004, which doctors said they could treat by amputation.

Although the toe was removed, Mr Watts’ condition deteriorated and his left leg below the knee had to be amputated.

Stephen Lutz is getting the chance of a lifetime…at just fourteen years old, Stephen is flying out to Los Angeles to skateboard with some of the world’s best extreme athletes at the X-Games.

Medical technology has progressed to a point where soldiers suffering severe wounds are being saved, Scott said. Getting them back to a fulfilling life is the challenge of rehabilitation.

“We are bringing them back faster,” Scott said. “We are keeping them alive. Imagine these multiple injuries before; they never would have made it off the battlefield. Now we are keeping them alive and we need a new way of rehabilitating them. They are young and have families; they all are volunteers.

“Should Disabled still be recognized as Disabled”

The subject has come up again in debate,

All people are created differently some are a little more advantaged and some disadvantaged throughout their lives.

With the advancements in technology there is a growing number of “lucky” amputees that may now be for all intensive purposes be considered advantaged when it comes to sports.

If this is the case does this mean that an amputee could no longer be called “disabled” but should now be referred to as “moreabled”?

Will these Nobel efforts by a handful of amputee athletes, put the not so able in the firing line to loose their benefits and pensions as there is a possibility that with the right limb they may also be advantaged?

Falls are a common and potentially dangerous event, especially in amputees. In this study, we compared the mechanisms of balance recovery of 17 unilateral transtibial amputees and 17 matched able-bodied controls after being released from a forward-inclined orientation of 10%. Kinematic analysis revealed statistically significant differences in response time and knee flexion at heel-strike between both groups.

Sarah Hilt lost four limbs after getting meningococcal disease five years ago.
Ms Hilt says she could only move on with her life after spending more than $50,000 to get superior prosthetic limbs to the basic ones provided by the State Government.
“The first leg that I received had a locked knee joint. They were asking me to walk around with a stiff leg,” she said.

“Prosthetic limbs are usually made from acrylic resins, supported by either glass or carbon fiber to provide structural strength,” principal researcher Carl Schaschke, PhD, explained to Chemistry World. “However, these materials are difficult to source in developing countries and require expensive fume-extraction equipment due to the toxic vapors produced when working with acrylic resins.”

By Ginger Geoffery
Dozens of top-notch golfers braved the heat at Brierwood Country Club in Hamburg on Monday to raise money for college scholarships in a tournament featuring two types of golfers — the “normies” and the “amputees”.
Eighteen amputees competed in the second annual Buffalo Amputee Golf Classic alongside 70 …

Poor circulation is a major cause of non healing wounds, ulcers and chronic pain in your legs and feet. Skin ulcers develop when blood flow is no longer able to supply the nutrients and oxygen needed by the tissues. This is the result of arteries and veins that have deteriorated and lost their capacity, often as a complication to diabetes.

Some forms of vascular disease can be corrected by surgical procedures, but many cases are inoperable. If a wound or ulcer is not responding to conservative treatment, the deterioration process will continue. However, there is an effective treatment available so that you can keep your toes, feet and legs.

Three formidable ladies of song are celebrating their birthdays in Hoboken this Thursday, and raising money for the earthquake-ravaged people of Haiti in the process.

Prince Harry follows his mother’s humanitarian example, strolling in a cleared minefield to draw attention to the plight of victims.

He spent two days meeting amputee blast victims in Mozambique – and even blew up seven landmines himself.

Soldier Harry, 25, was inspired to visit the Halo Trust by Princess Diana’s celebrated work with the world’s largest de-mining charity, a source revealed.

This topic has come up a few times in the news lately.

What exactly should you do in an emergency situation?

Obviously you have to size up every situation on its own merit and no 2 situations are ever going to be the same.

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Much to Hubner’s surprise, McMillian walked out of the office with his new prosthetic leg with no assistance.

“He looked like he’d been walking on it for 10 years,” Hubner said.