As a Florida resident, Alexandra Boutté spends about nine months a year battling every leg amputee’s warm-weather enemy: sweat. Keeping her cool requires a combination of strategic planning, specialized products, fashion adaptations, and a few other tricks.
Tag: Active Living
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PUSH Notification
PUSHLiving magazine offers entertaining takes on healthy, adaptive, inclusive living. The voices are confident, assertive, funny and downright salty at times.
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Best YouTube Channels by Amputees: My Single-Handed Pursuit
Last year we introduced you to Hunter Woodhall, whose YouTube channel (with his girlfriend Tara Davis) has more than 100,000 subscribers. But Woodhall is far from the only amputee making a splash on YouTube. The platform is giving amputees a voice and a reach they’ve never had before. This week we’re checking out a handful...
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Barriers, Enablers Affect Lower-limb Amputees’ Community Walking
Since walking in the community is essential to participate in work, leisure, social activities and family roles, a study explored potential barriers and enablers for people with lower-limb amputations who use a prosthesis to walk in public. The study found many barriers, but enablers were also identified. Three focus groups (n = 14 participants) using purposive sampling...
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Exercise May Help Fight Depression in Seniors
Kinesiologists at McMaster University have found that physical activity may help fight depression in seniors by stimulating muscle-generated mood boosters. The findings, published in the American Journal of Physiology—Cell Physiology, reveal that the underlying mechanisms that make us feel good when we exercise persist into old age and highlight the importance of staying active. “A...
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Three Tips for Sticking With Your New Year’s Resolutions
By February, nearly 80 percent of Americans will give up on their New Year’s resolutions, but Tomeka Flowers, a Houston Methodist behavioral development coordinator and certified lifestyle coach, says making a few simple changes can help people reach their goals. “The majority of New Year’s resolutions are about getting healthy—eating better, drinking more water, and...
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Amputation Level Affects Child’s Physical, Sports Function
Sports and physical functioning of children with amputations were significantly worse after amputations near the knee when compared with ankle-level amputations, according to a study published in the January issue of the Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics. Researchers considered whether children with amputations have differences in subjective function based on amputationlevel and whether children with more...
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Female Double Amputee Plans to Complete NYC Full Marathon
Brazilian athlete and bilateral lower-limb amputee Adriele Silva, 31, looks forward to crossing the finish line at mile 26.2 of the 2018 TCS New York City (NYC) Marathon on Sunday, November 4. “I hope to inspire people when they see me run and challenge them to go after things that seem unachievable,” said Silva, who...
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NIH, DOD to Develop Limb Loss and Preservation Registry
A new database supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Defense (DOD) aims to establish the number of people in the United States living with limb loss and to provide insight on their challenges and needs. The Limb Loss and Preservation Registry, expected to be operational in 2020, will be...
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Amputee Coalition Awards Two Scholarships
The Amputee Coalition’s Scott Decker, MD, Memorial Scholarship and Christina Skoski, MD, Scholarship have been awarded for 2018. Madelyn Hubbs received the Scott Decker, MD, Memorial Scholarship. She will enter Maryville University this fall as a freshman and is planning to study occupational therapy. David Gelfand received the Christina Skoski, MD, Scholarship. Gelfand...
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New Technology Could Make Prosthetic Hands Easier to Use
Researchers placed EMG sensors on the forearms of able-bodied volunteers, tracking neuromuscular signals as they performed various actions. Photograph courtesy of NC State University. Researchers in the joint biomedical engineering program at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have developed technology that can decode neuromuscular signals to control...
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Feeling Lonely?
Don’t Let Amputation Lead to Isolation
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American Diabetes Association Disappointed by Decision to Allow States to Impose Medicaid Work Requirements
Following is a statement from the organization: The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is deeply disappointed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) decision to allow states to impose work requirements as a condition of Medicaid eligibility. Access to affordable, adequate health coverage is critically important for the more than 114 million Americans living...
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Hanger Charitable Foundation Awards Last Round of 2017 Grants
The Hanger Charitable Foundation, Austin, Texas, has completed its third and final round of 2017 grant awards, giving $140,900 to five non-profit organizations, bringing the Foundation’s total awards granted for the year to more than $250,000. Grants were given to the following: No Limits Limb Loss Foundation, Camp No Limits Kids Scholarships: $100,000 to provide scholarships for...
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Winter Paralympics
PYEONGCHANG 2018
Taking the Chill Out of Winter
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Taking Care
The Benefits of Prosthetic Maintenance
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Study: Mobility Correlates With Amputees? Satisfaction and Quality of Life
Hanger, Austin, Texas, announced the results of the largest study of its kind that measured the correlation of mobility to quality of life and patient satisfaction among people living with lower-limb loss. The results of the Mobility Analysis of Amputees (MAAT I) study, published online October 8 in Prosthetics & Orthotics International, demonstrated a statistically...
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Study: PCAST Might Benefit Amputees in Developing Countries
In an attempt to develop affordable socket fabrication techniques that require little or no prosthetic skill for people living with lower-limb loss in developing countries, a study was conducted using a water-pressure casting technique (PCAST) to fabricate and fit transtibial prosthetic sockets. In the study, highlighted during the International Conference on the Development of Biomedical...
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Overturning Insurance Denials
Education + Persistence = Authorization
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The Economic Woes Of Being An Amputee
Health Insurance, Healthcare Costs, and Threats to Your Financial Future
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American Diabetes Association Deeply Concerned With Recent Prescription Drug Formulary Trends
Following is a statement from the American Diabetes Association (August 15): The American Diabetes Association (Association) is deeply concerned with recent trends in prescription drug formulary designs that result in frequent changes in drug coverage for individuals with diabetes. As pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs), insurers, and employers finalize their 2018 formulary lists, the Association...
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Yale Student Venture Focused on Amputees Wins Award
Penta Group Vietnam team members meet with a patient. Photograph courtesy of Penta Group Vietnam and YEI. A team developing a nonprofit to provide used prosthetic limbs to people with amputations in Vietnam won the 2017 Yale College Dean’s Challenge on Social Innovation. The Penta Group Vietnam team includes cofounders Victor Wang and Henry Iseman,...
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Crowdfunding for Medical Bills Not a Cure-all
Crowdfunding campaigns to pay for medical costs have become a booming industry in recent years, with sites like GoFundMe raising billions of dollars for Americans struggling to pay medical bills. But most of those campaigns do not reach their financial goals, according to new research from the University of Washington (UW). A study published in...
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Amputee Coalition Announces New Conference Scholarships
The Amputee Coalition announced three new scholarships to help reduce or eliminate the financial barriers that can make it impossible for people with amputations and their caregivers to attend the Amputee Coalition National Conference. Applications must be postmarked by April 17. The three scholarships, the Bridge to Ability, the Bridge to Ability: Second Chance, and...
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Study Finds That Yoga Can Be Helpful for Low Back Pain
About 80 percent of Americans will suffer from back pain at one time or another. A recent study found that more than a third of adults say that low back pain has affected their ability to perform the tasks of daily living, exercise, or sleep. Treating this pain, which is a common complaint for lower-limb...
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American Diabetes Association Opposes Senate Vote to Proceed With Affordable Care Act Repeal Without Immediate Replacement
Following is a statement from the American Diabetes Association (January 12, 2017): On behalf of the nearly 30 million Americans living with diabetes and the 86 million more with prediabetes, the American Diabetes Association (Association) is extremely disappointed the U.S. Senate voted overnight to pass a budget resolution that sets up a process to repeal...
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Amputee Coalition Youth Camp Accepting Applications
The Amputee Coalition is accepting applications for its 2017 Paddy Rossbach Youth Camp and Leadership Camp, to be held July 7-12 at Camp Joy, Clarksville, Ohio. The camp is open to children ten to 17 years old who are living with limb loss. The application deadline is March 31. All campers’ expenses, including travel, are...
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Hanger Charitable Foundation Awards Final Round of 2016 Grants
The Hanger Charitable Foundation, Austin, Texas, completed its final round of 2016 grants, awarding $225,000 to five non-profit organizations. The Foundation has awarded more than $424,000 to 25 organizations in 2016. The most recent grant recipients include local and national organizations that serve a variety of communities, including stroke survivors, and children and adults living...
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Augmented Reality Relieves Phantom Limb Pain
Ortiz Catalan demonstrates the augmented virtual reality environment in his new Biomechatronics and Neurorehabilitation Laboratory at Chalmers. Photograph courtesy of Anna-Lena Lundqvist. Max Ortiz Catalan, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Signals and Systems at Chalmers University of Technology (Chalmers), Gothenburg, Sweden, has developed a novel method of treating phantom limb pain using...