It’s spring break in Southern California—finally! Last week (and this week) were filled with projects and more projects. A little fun was mixed in between and yes, an earthquake. My classmates and I just finished fabricating our last transtibial project yesterday. Next week will start with a bang with the fitting, critique, and TT final.

Last week we had a guest speaker from Ossur come in to talk about the differences in the prosthetic feet they offer. After the lecture, a few of my classmates and I got to try to walk on some of them. Not being a person with an amputation, I used the CAM boot feet testers (patented name, I’m sure). We tried out the LP Ceterus. To add to the learning experience, we had two different sizes and categories of feet.

When I put them on, I needed help standing up! My first adjustment was being practically 6’5” tall. When I finally got acquainted with the height, I attempted to walk. Those first few steps were interesting. It was easy to feel the differences between the two feet. I rocked back and forth on the right one, then the left one; then frantically reached out for stability. I didn’t wear the feet too long so my other classmates could have a chance. But each person felt the differences in categories right away, and we could also feel the difference in alignment of the feet.

After wearing the CAM walkers for five minutes, I instantly felt more respect for my friends and persons with bilateral amputations. The importance of proper foot alignment was also reinforced. My balancing act may have been improved with a little less dorsiflexion. Before school, I hadn’t seen a pair of modified CAM walkers like this. Practitioners and patients would benefit if prosthetic foot manufacturers offered these as a tool to understanding their feet (and not just the pogo stick testers). Practitioners would be able to give a first hand account of foot dynamics instead of repeating the manufacturer literature. Just an idea.