I never thought about this before.
But, the foot on a prosthetic leg. Do they size it to match your shoe size?
I can imagine the frustration buying a pair of shoes and them not fitting the prosthetic foot.
A friend has a prosthetic leg, and told me of the time he went hiking up a popular mountain trail. Some distance in, a screw came loose and fell out, allowing the foot to rotate. For some reason it turned 180º and stayed there. All afternoon horrified hikers were asking him what he did to his foot, and could they help him, and didn’t it hurt?
I imagine that they try to make the foot as close to the same size as the other one as possible considering real feet are closely matched to each other.
Very true. From WikiAnswers:
Transradial and transtibial prostheses typically cost between US $6,000 and $8,000. Transfemoral and transhumeral prosthetics cost approximately twice as much with a range of $10,000 to $15,000 and can sometimes reach costs of $35,000. The cost of an artificial limb does recur because artificial limbs are usually replaced every 3-4 years due to wear and tear. In addition, if the artificial limb has fit issues, the limb must be replaced within several months.
Anybody spending that kind of cash wants to protect their investment.
You also have to consider different occasions. Your work shoes are not always your workout shoes or what you wear for yard work or hanging around at home. Building a leg with interchangeable shoe-feet just for everyday walking around would add a ridiculous amount to the cost. Having a one style for everything shoe-foot would look a bit off. Most people with prosthetic limbs just want to go about their lives like everybody else. Having matching shoes on is just a little touch that helps them blend in and get through a day.
I imagine it also helps them maintain a proper phantom limb. Much of the ability to use a prosthetic limb effectively is base in using proprioception, including that in the phantom limb. Some have developed distorted phantom limbs which made walking difficult or impossible.
The other day I saw a man with wooden legs and real feet.
It took me a couple of years to realize that a colleague of mine has a prosthetic lower limb. Actually, I should say limbS because she has several depending on the occasion. She has one with a flatter arch, one that’s arched for high heels, one that has toenails for when she wears sandals (she paints the nails too), one for swimming, and one for running. When she goes on vacation she has to pack at least one or two limbs in her suitcase. She said it’s expensive, but that a portion of the cost is covered through War Amps. I think she said she was saving up for a skiing leg next.
I think this is particularly frustrating for women because heels come in all different sizes. My friend’s high-heel leg is for shoes with 2 inch heels and there’ve been a number of times she’s had to put back cute shoes because the heels were off by a 1/4 inch or something.