How Silicone Sockets Improve Upper Limb Prostheses

Nearly all upper limb prostheses, no matter where or how they are made, have at least three components: the terminal device, the frame and the socket. A person may choose to add a wrist component, and if a person has an above elbow or shoulder limb difference, they will also have a prosthetic elbow or shoulder. For most finger and partial hand differences, there is still the device they’re using, the frame and the socket. There are many options for terminal devices, and people can also choose to get creative with their frame. For a socket, though, there are basically only three choices: rigid acrylic, thermoplastic and silicone. While our Arm Dynamics centers do create thermoplastic and, occasionally, rigid acrylic sockets as initial test sockets and for people who are allergic to silicone or need more rigidity because of their unique limb difference, we usually create silicone sockets for our patients because of the number of benefits they offer. Our sockets can incorporate two main types of silicone: a soft, cushioning injection molded silicone or a firmer rolled silicone, or a combination of the two.

Cushioning

People who’ve had a traumatic amputation may not have a lot of cushioning between their bones and the end of their residual limb. Like our patient Joe, who is a fire chief: “I don't have a lot of fatty tissue on my hands, and the silicone provides some additional cushioning and comfort in those bony areas." Same for our patient Ricardo (pictured below), who was injured on the job. His arm was amputated directly below his elbow, and he needed soft silicone to cushion his bones. His prosthesis was key to keeping his residual arm away from harm: “When I didn’t have it on, the end of my stump was sensitive to the touch, and I was always bumping it against something. It hurt a lot.”