Prosthetic limbs are artificial replacements for a missing limb, and can help a person regain independence after amputation. They are incredibly valuable to amputees that would otherwise not be able to participate in everyday activities, like sports. Prosthetic limbs can help restore some of the capabilities lost with the amputated limb, although they have not advanced to the point where they are as efficient as biological limbs. Prosthetic limbs are becoming very common for all amputees to use. One of the most well-known athletes who received prosthetic limbs is the professional snowboarder, Amy Purdy. The snowboarder, who is now 34 years old, lost both lower-legs (from the knee downwards) at age 19, as a result of a life-threatening bout of bacterial meningitis.

At one time, amputees were quite rare. Before the advent of modern medicine, losing a limb was often seen as a death sentence. The idea of the prosthetic limb  was not created until 1529, and the actual invention of the prosthetic limb did not come along until well after that. If a person lost a limb, they typically bled to death within minutes. If they survived that trauma, infection would normally take their life. Today, the ordeal of losing a body part is certainly traumatic, but the options for amputees have given them a whole new type of hope.

Scientists and doctors say that the near future will include robot arms and legs that perform almost as efficiently as biological limbs. Cat Clark ’16, says, “It is amazing how something that used to be almost impossible to recover from is now fixed by the use of prosthetic limbs. I am very into crew, and I would be incredibly sad if I was no longer able to participate due to the tragic loss of a limb. It is amazing that athletes are still able to compete in their favorite sports even after going through such a horrific process.” Amy Purdy is just one example of an athlete who is universally admired for being exceptionally talented without having biological limbs, which shows how technologically-advanced prosthetic limbs are very beneficial. Purdy began snowboarding seven months after she received her leg prosthetics, and just one year after her legs were amputated, she finished third in a snowboarding competition. This shows how the prosthetic limbs allow athletes to continue to play their favorite sports almost just as well as before amputation.

As with almost every global topic, prosthetic limbs have caused controversy in the sports world. Oscar Pistorius is an example of the issue people have with this. Some people feel that his prosthetic legs were an unfair advantage to his running career if he was competing against people who do not also have prosthetic legs. This is due to the fact that the legs he used are a lot lighter and are more air resistance than regular legs. Scientific studies carried out in regards to this issue have shown that Oscar’s prosthetic limbs make him 15-20% faster than he would be with regular legs. Ellen Johnson says, “It is tempting to say that corrective use is all for the good, while enhancement, as in athletic training, opens many ethical questions.  It may seem that the use of prosthetics for injury/developmental repair or reconstruction is not controversial at all.  However, as with all technology, there are many models from basic to state of the art.  And not all individuals will have the same access to the same newest and best features. But we do not turn away from technical advances in other aspects of our lives – is there something different about technology connected to our bodies?” In addition, because of how the legs position his upper body, he is able to leave the ground for a longer period of time, causing more energy to be generated with each stride. Sloan Maas ’18 says in response to this, “I don’t think that people with prosthetic legs should be forced to participate in specific leagues, because even with the advantage, they are still working just as hard as the other runners to prepare for the competitions. They shouldn’t be banned from competing in the olympics simply because they were born at a disadvantage.”

        Other scientists with the same response began conducting more research to see just how much of an advantage the legs actually gave Pistorius. The results of the Rice University study were presented to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland in 2008, which decided that Pistorius should be allowed to run, revoking the IAAF’s decision. Unfortunately, he missed qualifying for the 2008 Beijing Olympics by 0.7 seconds, and did not end up competing anyway.

Prosthetic limbs are seen as an amazing technological advance for those in need of them. They have allowed athletes to continue to participate in the sports they love and devote their time to even after tragic events. This is just one of the many reasons why they are such an admired invention.