Bionic Knee Allows Better Movement For Amputees

• HealthDay Reporter
• Dennis Thompson
• July 11, 2025
• Full Page

“Better. Stronger. Faster.”

Those words were written for TV’s bionic "Six Million Dollar Man," but they could soon apply to everyday folks with above-the-knee amputations, a new study says.

A new bionic knee allows amputees to walk faster, climb s...

New Material Allows Amputees To Adjust Prosthetic Limb Fit Via Smartphone

• HealthDay Reporter
• Dennis Thompson
• March 26, 2025
• Full Page

Chafing, blisters and sores are common problems for people fitted with an artificial limb.

The artificial limb’s fixed, rigid shape can’t adapt to changes in a person’s body, ultimately causing it to rub against a person’s residual limb.

&ld...

Map Shows U.S. Areas Where Amputation for Poor Leg Circulation Is High

• HealthDay Reporter
• Dennis Thompson
• September 5, 2024
• Full Page

A new interactive map of the United States can show people the risk of leg, foot or toe amputations due to peripheral artery disease (PAD) in their locale.

Mississippi has the highest risk of lower limb amputation, followed by Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and South Carolina...

First Treatment Found for Rare Disease That Can Lead to Amputation

• HealthDay Reporter
• Ernie Mundell
• April 4, 2024
• Full Page

There's a glimmer of hope for people afflicted by a rare artery-hardening disease than can lead to amputation.

An existing medication called etidronate appears to help slow the buildup of calcium in arteries that's a hallmark of the illness, which is called arterial calc...

Spinal Cord Stimulation Eases Pain, Boosts Function for People With Prosthetic Legs

• HealthDay Reporter
• Ernie Mundell
• December 15, 2023
• Full Page

People who've lost a leg due to injury or disease are often plagued by what's known as phantom limb pain -- discomfort arising in the area, despite the absence of the limb.

Now, researchers report that people who wear a prosthetic leg after amputation may have that pain ...

Got PAD? Income, Race Could Affect Outcomes Such as Amputation

• HealthDay Reporter
• Cara Murez
• April 20, 2023
• Full Page

Patients with a common vascular disease that causes blockages in their leg vessels had both worse symptoms and outcomes if they were Black or poor, new research finds.

The study from Michigan Medicine looked at more than 7,000 patients with peripheral arterial disease (...

Doctors Convert Veins Into Arteries to Spare Patients Amputations

• HealthDay Reporter
• Dennis Thompson
• March 30, 2023
• Full Page

Cynthia Elford had recently lost her left leg to type 1 diabetes, after a sunburned big toe turned nearly black and forced an amputation.

Now, Elford was being told the same thing was happening in her right leg.

"I went to clip the toenail on the big toe of my righ...

Archaeologists Discover Evidence of Surgical Amputation Performed 30,000 Years Ago

• HealthDay Reporter
• Cara Murez
• September 12, 2022
• Full Page

Skeletal remains of a young adult discovered in a remote cave in Borneo appear to be the oldest known case of surgical amputation.

Australian and Indonesian researchers estimate the bones are at least 31,000 years old. It appears that the young adult lost his foot and lo...

Medicare's Free Wellness Visit Can Prevent Diabetes Amputation

• HealthDay Reporter
• Robert Preidt
• June 20, 2022
• Full Page

Annual wellness visits covered by Medicare reduce diabetes patients' risk of amputation by more than one-third, a new study finds.

"Our results confirmed our hypothesis that Annual Wellnes...

A 'Bionic' Arm That Feels Like Her Very Own

• HealthDay Reporter
• Dennis Thompson
• September 3, 2021
• Full Page

Former Marine Cpl. Claudia Mitchell can hold a banana or a water bottle in her left hand without squishing it as she opens it.

She can use her left hand to help cut peaches for a pie. She can hold someone's hand without squeezing too hard, and she can grab her makeup bag...

Diabetes-Linked Amputations: Your Race, State Matters

• HealthDay Reporter
• Cara Murez
• August 18, 2021
• Full Page

Poorly controlled diabetes can lead to amputations of toes, feet or legs, though it isn't inevitable.

But your race and where you live might play a big part in whether amputation is your fate if you are diagnosed with the blood sugar disorder, new research suggests.