One of the most important things to an amputee
is to fi nd some sort of physical activity. It lifts
their spirits and gives them the feeling that they
can accomplish more than just being able to walk.
They must fi nd a place where they can have fun.
Some have found golf. There are many associations
they can join, should they seek a competitive outlet.
There are numerous clinics conducted across the
United States that are sponsored by the Amputee
Associations. These clinics are geared towards
hospital and rehab organizations. The clinic basically
introduces and demonstrates the devices that have
been invented to accommodate various amputee
situations, such as arms, hands, and legs. Golf pros
are invited to donate their time for one morning and
give brief lessons to handicapped attendees. When
it’s over, the pros go home, and rarely (if
ever) get in touch with the rehab people
again. Because of the present wars, the
amputee population is unfortunately
growing.
When working with a handicapped
person, there are many more considerations involved
when making swing corrections than with a nonhandicapped
golfer. After a swing correction is
offered and tried by the player, you must ask how
the movement affects balance. When you get that
answer, you have two options: 1) continue along the
lines of the correction, or 2) take another approach
because of the effects on balance.
You can see this man has golf shoes on, but
they do not contain his feet. That little square box to
which the red lines are pointing on each leg, acts as
his foot in the prosthetic device. It’s like trying to play
golf on stilts. Wearing prosthetics is similar to walking
across a very slippery surface. When you walk on a
surface like that, you use your muscles in a different
way in order to keep from falling. Some muscles are
tightened up, some are relaxed, and you walk with
great caution. Eventually, the body adapts to the
movement, and muscles get realigned to work with
the prosthetic. Your visional perception also changes.
Try turning your head while you are walking on that
slippery surface – it gets scary. So, when a double
amputee moves, his head goes with him.
When I first started working with this individual,
his left leg was air-actuated. When he
swung you could actually see and hear
it pull up into the body when he shifted
his weight onto his leg. His right leg is
computer-actuated and does a thousand
commands a second. The only drawback
is that the computer doesn’t know when he has
stopped climbing a hill or riding a bike. So, he has
to stop and let the computer re-boot or the leg will
react as if it is still on the bike or climbing. His left leg
has since been changed to be vacuum-actuated. The
vacuum-actuated leg makes it easier for him to get
his weight onto his left leg during the downswing.
Without rotors on his legs, an amputee is very limited in making any type of golf swing with a
rotary motion. Usually they compensate with lateral
movement and an overuse of their arms, which is
where we began our lessons. After two lessons,
I asked him to see if he could get rotors. In his
circumstance, the VA paid for his legs, so money was
not a problem. A rotor is a device that allows some
pivot motion in one direction or another. The limited
movement of the rotor is for balance. Rotors are about
the size of a silver dollar, and about an inch thick.
They are set equally at 15 degrees to the left and
right on his left leg. The prosthetics can adjust for
more or less rotation. They are activated by twisting
or turning the body. For golf, he pushes his upper
body down and activates his hips to turn the rotors.
When a rotor is added, the height of the foot on
the prosthetic device must be narrowed. The left leg
rotates in two directions. The right leg rotates five
degrees for the backswing, allowing him to open his
right hip slightly on the backswing. There is no rotor
for the forward swing.
A double amputee must keep his prosthetic feet
flat during the entire swing. Those little square boxes
around ankle height cannot tilt. Because if they do,
he will fall. There is no such thing as coming up on
the rear toe to complete the forward swing. As we
progress with downswing movement and better hip
rotation, we might be able to add a rotor on the right
leg for forward movement in the swing. If that rotor
is added, we will again address the balance issues
that the rotor creates.
Finally, keep in mind that the more questions
you ask a physically handicapped golfer, the better
the golf lesson will be.
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