A below-knee amputation is the removal of the leg below the knee—including the foot, ankle joint, distal tibia and fibula with related soft tissue structures. Most below-knee amputations are due to peripheral vascular disease, which affects blood circulation in the lower limb. However, below-knee amputations are sometimes the result of a traumatic lower leg injury that requires removal of the limb.
Our approach to care for below-knee amputees is to focus on symmetry and getting clients to trust their prostheses. We know this may sound strange, but over time it helps our clients to stop treating the prosthesis as a device and begin considering it as an extension of themselves, as a new leg.