"The obsession with running is really an obsession with the potential for more and more life." - George Sheehan
Our mission at Prosthetic Running is to provide individuals with lower extremity amputations with the knowledge to run properly, prevent injuries and connect with other runners and healthcare professionals to provide an improved quality of life through the freedom of running.
Please read this message before you perform any of the exercises on this website, or any other exercises, including running, with your prosthetic limb. Please note that all individuals have varying exercise needs and abilities. This website is only intended to provide you with background knowledge on some ways to train, and very basic guidelines for running with a lower limb prosthesis. These are not hard and fast rules or requirements for running. As with any physical activity you should check with your physician to make sure that exercise is a safe option for you. The instructions and exercises presented on this website are in no way intended as a substitute for personal medical counseling. Some exercises on this website may require you to perform balance-related tasks; please make sure that there is someone around to assist you if needed and that all exercises are performed in a safe environment. It is mandatory that before you perform any exercise, check with your health care providers to ensure that the skin integrity of your residual limb is sufficient to withstand the forces which the limb will be placed under during running or other exercise. If you have frequent or current wounds and/or drainage issues, you should not perform any of these exercises without clearance from a physician. Always be sure to check with your prosthetist prior to initiating a running training program to ensure that the volume of your residual limb is stable, and your prosthesis is fitting properly.
Muji's Story
"On August 21, 2011 I was a passenger in a vehicle that lost control and struck a tree. The car exploded on impact and I was trapped inside for about an hour. As a result I suffered fourth degree burns on my legs and left hand, requiring amputations. I had been a Division 1 football player at the University of New Hampshire and a lifelong athlete, so you can imagine the mental crisis going on in my head being an athlete who just lost his legs. When my injuries were no longer life-threatening these were the thoughts that caused the most problems and depression: Would I be able to walk again? Would I be able to run or be active? I spent a lot of time thinking about these things and concluded that if I was a good athlete before my injury, then I could still be a good athlete post injury. I worked really hard and as time passed I had maximized the athletic potential of my everyday walking legs, so I started to inquire about running prostheses. The first time I ran with my blades it was a very liberating feeling. For so long I had been confined to a wheelchair or moving slowly with a cane or crutch, now getting from point A to point B with some relative quickness was immediately addicting. Less than a year after receiving my running prostheses I'm considered an emerging athlete for the U.S. Paralympic team in both the 100 and 200 meters. With prosthetic technology and a lot of hard work I'm starting to feel like the athlete I've always been." - Muji Karim
benefits of physical activity
Running and other forms of physical activity offer physical as well as mental health benefits that can improve your quality of life.
This website was created by Kelly Moran for her academic practicum as a part of the DPT program at Boston University. The compilation of the information presented on this website required a combination of expert opinion, personal experience, and the current evidence available in the literature.
Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to share their expertise and helped to make this website a reality. Without the following people this website would not have been possible:
Karen Hutchinson, PhD, PT, DPT; Joe Walsh; Anna Conn; Muji Karim; David Bonfiglio; Brendan Driscoll; Steve Jamison, PhD; Robert Morrison, PT, DPT; Trevor Kingsbury, MA; Brittney Mazzone, DPT; Randi Woodrow, PT; Irene Davis, PhD, PT, FAPTA, FACSM, FASB; Joseph LeMar; David Crandell, MD; Robert Gailey, PhD, PT; Peter Harsch, CP; Matthew Albuquerque, CPO
Click here to view the evidence used to create this website.