Prostheses as a tool of rehabilitation not only help an amputee with their day to day life. It also helps in freeing up valuable manpower so that society can progress. The human body is a fine-tuned system, able to utilize most of its potential in making life an easier affair. Loss of a component from this system can be detrimental to the rhythm and dynamics of the human body. Amputations are a desperate last resort, usually performed in order to save a life from imminent death.
But these life-saving procedures extract a steep cost. As life after the amputation is mostly dependent on others, incomplete and isolated for a long time. The aftermath is extremely painful and difficult for most amputees and many lose the motivation to live on. Prosthetics as a discipline concentrates on the rehabilitation of amputees by giving back some of the abilities needed for the return back to life. This article will concentrate on how prostheses rehabilitate millions from the clutches of mental illnesses and keep the wheel of progress rolling.
Depression
Depression after amputation is caused by the initial isolation imposed for the healing and training. During this period most amputees suffer from the phantom limb phenomenon and the most motivated ones suffer the most. As they tend to wield and learn the use of bionic prosthesis they go through an immense pressure of conditioning. This culminates in depression and severe episodes of phantom limb pains.
Prosthetic limbs give back a lot of abilities that can remove isolation from the equation entirely. And utilize the anatomical modification responsible for phantom limb pain and utilizes them.
Frustration
Frustrations are a common form of anxiety. Frustrations emerge due to the absence of rewards or because of the inability to gain rewards. An amputee loses multiple abilities after an amputation, which include body balance. And gaining the much-needed rewards essential for a calm psyche is entirely outsourced. This dependency brings in a plethora of problems including episodes of frustrations.
Bionic prosthetic limbs alleviate the conditions gradually by giving back essential abilities needed for gaining the necessary rewards. The amputee wielding such a device depends significantly less on others for the necessary rewards. Frustrations are seen to reduce alongside all the other forms of anxieties known to emerge post-amputations by a successful implementation of prostheses.
Helping in socializing
Loss of an organ and following losses of body balance and livelihood makes it extremely difficult for most to socialize again. The loss of body balance and many other abilities makes it even more difficult to socialize alone. Additionally, the initial isolation and extreme dependency reduce the sense of self-worth. Many amputees simply lose the motivation of continuing life, as many lose the livelihood they had prior to the amputation.
The empowering experience of an advanced prosthesis restores confidence. And many, who lost their livelihood due to the amputation get most of it back as bionics restores many of the essential abilities.
