The Making of a Man: Being a Description of Artificial Limbs and How They May Be Adopted by Those Who Have Suffered Loss of Their Natural LimbsGeorge R. Fuller Co. (Rochester, N.Y.)
Science
The Making of a Man: Being a Description of Artificial Limbs and How They May Be Adopted by Those Who Have Suffered Loss of Their Natural Limbs
As the weight of the body is imposed upon the artificial leg, under a
high pressure, changing from naught to the entire weight of the body, and
at times to double that weight or more, the least particle of chafing or
friction would soon cause soreness and might continue to that extent that
the limb would be impossible of good, and, moreover, a source of much
injury to the wearer. The amputation of a leg, therefore, requires on the
part of the artificial leg a double degree of responsibility; the limb
must not only fit the remaining mutilated part of the leg comfortably,
but must reproduce the general motion to a greater or lesser degree of
perfection. These are delicate features of artificial limb production,
and in no way are they more perfectly reproduced than in the WALKEASY leg.
The improvements represented by the WALKEASY leg are not simply
theoretical. We have been quietly experimenting with them for years, not
in the shop only, but they have been put into practical use by wearers,
of various professions and occupations—the correct way of testing an
appliance of this kind; otherwise we would not dare hazard our reputation
on their success.
The most approved points of excellence in both the ordinary rubber and
wooden feet are combined in the WALKEASY foot. The rubber and wooden
feet, as commonly constructed, while possessing desirable features, are
objectionable and unsuitable in many cases—the rubber foot on account
of its rigid, motionless ankle, and the wooden foot on account of the
hard, unyielding, springless material of which it is constructed. In the
WALKEASY foot both of these features are entirely done away with and the
desirable ones preserved.
The following are the eminently desirable features of the WALKEASY leg,
a combination of which is not to be found in any other artificial leg
manufactured:
_First._ The removable sponge-rubber sole of the foot imparts
a soft, noiseless tread, does not cut the stockings, gives a
natural appearance in the shoe, relieves the wearer of much
strain and jar in walking, greatly assists the ankle springs
in their action, producing an increased lifelike motion, and
greatly reduces the chances of breakage of any part of the leg.
_Second._ The yielding rubber at bottom of foot provides for
a little lateral or side motion, enough for all practical
purposes.
_Third._ The ankle joint is strongly constructed. A
substance composed of fibre, in which plumbago (black lead)
is incorporated, is used as a bearing on the ankle bolt or
cylinder, making a lubricating and most satisfactory joint.
_Fourth._ The sponge-rubber or felt sole, which can be easily
and quickly removed and cheaply renewed or repaired without the
necessity of procuring a new foot in case of wear or breakage.
_Fifth._ No mechanical toe joint, the flexibility of the rubber
or felt giving the desired motion.
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