wooden leg holes are for...........
Joe Sansone
Description
Collection
Title:
wooden leg holes are for...........
Creator:
Joe Sansone
Date:
7/17/2007
Text:
I received an amazing 46 responses from my inquiry as to the purpose of
1 holes in wooden legs. My typical posts illicit 4-5 responses. Many
practitioners have fit these wooden legs and some still service them.
The responses helped me arrive at the realization that we live in
amazing times. After amputees hobbled around on wooden legs for
literally THOUSANDS of years, within our lifetime, many of you have
progressed from fitting wooden legs to microprocessor legs. What an
industry. Prosthetists and manufacturers are due a well deserved pat on
the back for their contributions.
There is definitely no consensus amongst the many who responded. Almost
all say that the purpose of the 1 holes in the distal end of a wooden
prosthesis was for aeration.
Those holes were for ventilation, they also coated the inside with a
varnish to keep perspiration out of the wood
These are air holes to ventilate the open-ended socket, if the wood was
completely sealed it would rot much quicker, especially in the day when
wearers were frequently getting the prosthesis wet ie; field work /
farming.
>
Those are ventilation holes. Without them, sweat would collect in the
bottom of the open ended socket and cause the willow wood to dry rot,
and consequently break just above the ankle.
The most interesting stated that this is where the term plug nickel
came from - when nickels were used to plug the holes. Hence, if
something cost an arm and a leg it meant that the 2 plug nickels in a
leg were not enough - hence the higher cost of an arm AND a leg. Or the
term something is not worth a plug nickel
Many said the following
Those holes were to stop the air sound as it squeezed in and out with
each step. Without those holes in the leg, it was loud enough that
co-workers in the office could hear the person walking from the next
room!
Some stated:
They used to achieve total contact by running string or leather thongs
back and forth through the holes to create a platform on which padding
material could be placed to create contact.
Other suggestions:
Some times a amputee would attach a short piece of string to the end of
the stump sock and pass the string through the hole to allow a little
tug on the string and pull any wrinkles out of the sock that might form
in the socket once the prosthesis was on.
when and how the leg was made the holes will vary in size from 1 to 2
1/2 inches. Also after the legs were hollowed and lacquered the holes
would act as an alignment guide for the gluing and dove tailing if the
leg was cut for hollowing.
And finally
The answer to your question is, the earlier years of prosthetics, all
ankle blocks were made out of wood, so that if you ordered an ankle
block from one of the distributors the hole was in there so you could
put the anchor fitting in to hold the foot in place.
Joe Sansone
C.E.O.
TMC Orthopedic
The Amputee Center
(713) 669-1800
www.tmcortho.com
********************
To unsubscribe, send a message to: <Email Address Redacted> with
the words UNSUB OANDP-L in the body of the
message.
If you have a problem unsubscribing,or have other
questions, send e-mail to the moderator
Paul E. Prusakowski,CPO at <Email Address Redacted>
OANDP-L is a forum for the discussion of topics
related to Orthotics and Prosthetics.
Public commercial postings are forbidden. Responses to inquiries
should not be sent to the entire oandp-l list. Professional credentials
or affiliations should be used in all communications.
1 holes in wooden legs. My typical posts illicit 4-5 responses. Many
practitioners have fit these wooden legs and some still service them.
The responses helped me arrive at the realization that we live in
amazing times. After amputees hobbled around on wooden legs for
literally THOUSANDS of years, within our lifetime, many of you have
progressed from fitting wooden legs to microprocessor legs. What an
industry. Prosthetists and manufacturers are due a well deserved pat on
the back for their contributions.
There is definitely no consensus amongst the many who responded. Almost
all say that the purpose of the 1 holes in the distal end of a wooden
prosthesis was for aeration.
Those holes were for ventilation, they also coated the inside with a
varnish to keep perspiration out of the wood
These are air holes to ventilate the open-ended socket, if the wood was
completely sealed it would rot much quicker, especially in the day when
wearers were frequently getting the prosthesis wet ie; field work /
farming.
>
Those are ventilation holes. Without them, sweat would collect in the
bottom of the open ended socket and cause the willow wood to dry rot,
and consequently break just above the ankle.
The most interesting stated that this is where the term plug nickel
came from - when nickels were used to plug the holes. Hence, if
something cost an arm and a leg it meant that the 2 plug nickels in a
leg were not enough - hence the higher cost of an arm AND a leg. Or the
term something is not worth a plug nickel
Many said the following
Those holes were to stop the air sound as it squeezed in and out with
each step. Without those holes in the leg, it was loud enough that
co-workers in the office could hear the person walking from the next
room!
Some stated:
They used to achieve total contact by running string or leather thongs
back and forth through the holes to create a platform on which padding
material could be placed to create contact.
Other suggestions:
Some times a amputee would attach a short piece of string to the end of
the stump sock and pass the string through the hole to allow a little
tug on the string and pull any wrinkles out of the sock that might form
in the socket once the prosthesis was on.
when and how the leg was made the holes will vary in size from 1 to 2
1/2 inches. Also after the legs were hollowed and lacquered the holes
would act as an alignment guide for the gluing and dove tailing if the
leg was cut for hollowing.
And finally
The answer to your question is, the earlier years of prosthetics, all
ankle blocks were made out of wood, so that if you ordered an ankle
block from one of the distributors the hole was in there so you could
put the anchor fitting in to hold the foot in place.
Joe Sansone
C.E.O.
TMC Orthopedic
The Amputee Center
(713) 669-1800
www.tmcortho.com
********************
To unsubscribe, send a message to: <Email Address Redacted> with
the words UNSUB OANDP-L in the body of the
message.
If you have a problem unsubscribing,or have other
questions, send e-mail to the moderator
Paul E. Prusakowski,CPO at <Email Address Redacted>
OANDP-L is a forum for the discussion of topics
related to Orthotics and Prosthetics.
Public commercial postings are forbidden. Responses to inquiries
should not be sent to the entire oandp-l list. Professional credentials
or affiliations should be used in all communications.
Citation
Joe Sansone, “wooden leg holes are for...........,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 2, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/228463.
