Guides & resources
A working shelf for the questions that follow change.
Build vocabulary, understand the practical context, and bring clearer questions into care, rehabilitation, and benefits conversations.
Start here
Choose the question you are holding today.
Limb loss
Early recovery, possible care paths, and how to find a useful next question.
Residual limb & skin care
Daily checks, cleaning context, volume changes, and questions about comfort.
Prosthetic devices
Sockets, liners, components, fit, and replacement conversations.
Orthotic devices
External support, bracing, footwear, and individualized fit.
Phantom pain
Words for describing phantom sensation, pain, and residual-limb concerns.
Finding a prosthetist
First visits, communication, credentials, and second opinions.
Daily life & work
Routines, driving, participation, workplace questions, and practical support.
Pediatric limb differences
Growth, school, activity, independence, and family care conversations.
Peer support
How lived experience can sit beside clinical and mental-health care.
Emotional adjustment
Gentle language for the human side of change and finding support.
Insurance & cost
Coverage, estimates, documentation, and questions before you commit.
Financial assistance
General information about possible assistance avenues and paperwork questions.
Future technology
How to ask careful questions about emerging bionics and adaptive devices.
A practical tool
Questions worth taking to your care team
Bring observations, not conclusions. These prompts are written to help you describe what you notice and ask for clarity.
What amputation level or residual-limb characteristics matter most for my options?
Which socket design and suspension method are you recommending, and why?
What should I expect in the first 30–90 days of wearing a device or orthosis?
How will we know if the fit or alignment needs adjustment?
What signs mean I should contact you between scheduled visits?
Glossary
The words clinicians use, explained without the fog.
This is a plain-language reference, not a substitute for the definitions or recommendations your own care team may use.
- AFO
- An ankle-foot orthosis: a brace that supports the ankle and lower leg.
- Alignment
- The relationship between device parts and the body during movement.
- Accommodation
- A change or support that helps a person participate in an activity or environment.
- CPO
- A credential commonly used in the United States for a clinician certified in both prosthetics and orthotics.
- Coinsurance
- A share of an allowed cost that a plan member may be responsible for after the plan pays its portion.
- Deductible
- An amount a plan member may pay before some insurance benefits begin, according to the plan’s rules.
- Driver rehabilitation
- A specialized assessment and training approach that may address driving after an injury, illness, or physical change.
- Donning and doffing
- Clinical terms for putting a device on and taking it off.
- Explanation of benefits
- A statement from an insurer that explains how a submitted claim was processed; it is not usually a bill.
- Liner
- A soft interface that may sit between the residual limb and a prosthetic socket.
- Peer mentor
- A person with relevant lived experience who offers non-clinical support through a formal or informal program.
- Myoelectric
- Using electrical activity from muscles to help control a prosthetic device.
- Orthosis
- An external device, such as a brace or insert, designed to support a body part.
- Pistoning
- Up-and-down movement of the residual limb inside a prosthetic socket.
- Prior authorization
- A coverage review that some plans require before a service or item is provided.
- Prosthesis
- An artificial device that replaces a missing body part or supports a function.
- Residual limb
- The remaining physical portion of an arm or leg after amputation.
- Sock ply
- The thickness of a prosthetic sock, which may be adjusted as a limb’s volume changes.
- Socket
- The custom-made part of a prosthesis that contacts the residual limb.
- Suspension
- The method used to keep a prosthesis attached.