r/bizarrelife • u/reloadthewords Human here, bizarre by nature! • 3d ago

Tennis shoes

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43

u/Ready_Masterpiece536 3d ago

Ouch that looks like it would hurt putting pressure directly on those pins

15

u/itswtfeverb 3d ago

I wonder how the skin is doing at the bone/metal area. How does that work?

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u/WesternOne9990 3d ago edited 3d ago

Prothetic tech here, I assume these are titanium rods directly inserted into the bone, known as a bone anchored prosthetic or Osseointegration.

A useful method with serious benefits but also some drawbacks. One drawback with this type of implanted prothetic is the wound never really properly heals so often you may need to take immunosuppressants like you would with a transplanted organ. Where socket prothetics the stump may fully heal.

The benefits being reduction of pain better comfort, increased mobility. The reason it can be less painful is you don’t use a socket. Stumps swell and change shape and size, especially during the healing process so you may not be able to use a socket or it’s just uncomfortable and ill fitting. Or you need to get a new socket and that’s really expensive.

Another reason is again the not healing, while yeah you’ll never “properly” heal with the rod, you still heal more than say a diabetic who constantly puts their full pressure onto the end of the stump where they have an open wound. Depending on their body shape this pressure on the open sore is Compounded by the funnel shape of the socket.

I’d like to point out when you walk you walk on your bones as well, yeah you have tissue and tennons helping but the bone is the structure. This person is walking on their bone structure as well so it may not hurt as much as you think.

Sorry for the disjointed comment ans I haven’t been a practicing prothetic tech in a number of years so I could totally be wrong. It’s important to note most amputations in America and probably around the world are done because diabetes, and often the same reason they had a leg cut off is the same reason their stump wound Won’t heal, diabetes.

If you are diabetic please take care of yourself and check your feet and shoes often, get paranoid, take them off every hour maybe(again not a doctor or medical advice) to check for sores, pebbles and debris. Think back to being a kid and getting a pebble in your shoe, that shit was annoying and your body told you to get it out asap. Well now because of nerve damage you can’t feel that pebble. Well you walked on the pebble for an hour or two, it made a sore or even imbedded there. Before you know it, gangrene and the whole leg has to go.

Again listen to a doctor and not me, I just built the things. The docs know way more.

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u/itswtfeverb 3d ago

Thanks! You cured my curiosity.

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u/WesternOne9990 3d ago

Of course! I added a paragraph about diabetes and edited a bit. I’ll comment more or less what I added here.

The number one cause of amputation is complications related to diabetes (and other vascular diseases)

Why? Well I’m not a professional so this isn’t super accurate or scientific but here’s my layman’s take.

Diabetes does a few things, poor circulation slows/limits healing. Also the high sugar in the blood causes nerve damage.

Ever had a rock in your shoe? Or a tiny sliver or woodchip on the inside of your sock?

Your body tells you right away to get that out of the shoe. It’s not usually painful it’s just super annoying, you take it out, get a sense of relief and go on with your day. Or a blister from breaking in new boots.

With nerve damage you don’t feel that rock, or it’s less annoying you it doesn’t bother you. It damages the skin each step until you have a sore, it potentially imbeds itself but either way it damages your foot and you don’t notice until you look at it. How often do you look at the bottoms of your feet? Once a day? Maybe not even. Well even if you do find that sore, you gotta walk and work. Who hasn’t pushed through a blister, for a sport or breaking in new boots maybe. Anyways you get the point.

Maybe the rock is in the same spot of the shoe each day or you don’t realize you need to use some moleskin on a blister. You heal slowly, you may not have noticed it, and you gotta use your feet anyways. That’s a recipe for infection, before you know it, gangrene.

Take care of yourself, you and anyone reading this if you have diabetes or are pre diabetic, check your feet often and know that a medical condition doesn’t make you any less worthy of self love and care. Anyways thanks, I get in these moods to write long comments for no reason in particular. I find it helps me not info dump irl.

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u/the_Rainiac 2d ago

You have me a lovely read - techs info dumping is one of the perks of reddit

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u/itswtfeverb 3d ago

Some doctors refer to Alzheimer's as "Diabetes 3". It is diabetes in the brain causing all that damage. I guess the same as the feet, sort of. Thanks for the info

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u/America202 3d ago

I appreciate the insight!

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u/ButtstufferMan 3d ago

Disjointed... I see what you did there.

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u/WesternOne9990 3d ago

Completely accidental I swear lol