PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Dozens of lower-limb amputees gathered for a mobility and running clinic Saturday morning at Penn Park in University City to regain their independence using different prosthetics.
The Össur and Challenged Athletes Foundation clinic, which started around 8:45 a.m., was geared towards people of all ages and abilities. Physical Therapist Bob Gailey ran a variety of drills that targeted different muscle groups.
“The goal is to teach people or athletes who use a prosthesis how to be able to run and have faster mobility, so they can live a life without limitations,” Gailey said.
Athletes were assigned to a volunteer therapist as they learned to properly use their prosthesis. Amputee Sean Crowley says there was a lot to consider.
“Trying to train both balance and stride, which is obviously a little harder when one of your legs is both a different weight and length and what not.”
During the clinic, Andrea Szabo, who was learning to use her walking prosthesis, was gifted a running blade.
“You don't realize how much spring you get from, you know, your calf muscle when you don't have it until you don't have it,” Szabo explained. “And so just being able to spring off of it, and running is just so much more comfortable. It's so much easier and so much more fun now, so I'm really excited to test it out.”
Szabo adds the clinic helped both her physical and mental health.
“It's reassuring to me that I'm not the only one that's going through some of these thoughts and kind of the stories and it's also humbling to know that there are people who have definitely been through much harder stories than I have.”
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And Crowley agrees, saying the day had a heavy focus on community building.
“It makes a difference, like, seeing other people that are like you makes a difference for everyone.”
According to the National Institutes of Health, around 1.9 million people in the U.S. are living with limb loss.
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