Materials in sport - Prosthetic limbs

... Materials in sport - Prosthetic limbs Intro Competition amongst paralympians is no less fierce than that experienced by their able bodied compatriots, with competitors producing athletic performances that are truly inspiring. The current world record for the 100 metre sprint by an amputee athlete is 11.03 seconds, only about a second slower than the fastest Olympic sprinters. What makes this possible? A brief history of the 'non-intelligent' artificial leg: Before intelligent prosthetics had been developed, and all that was available was the original artificial leg, the material being used for the leg frame was mainly wood with the socket made from reinforced leather. In the 1950's and 60's laminated and reinforced plastics were used for sockets with fibre glass materials for the rest of the leg. These rigid plastic sockets however are generally no longer in use as they are uncomfortable and do not respond to each specific need of the patient. Researchers such

want to read more? →