Why do we receive so many inquiries from people with an upper limb difference who are looking to get into the gym for the first time or when returning after an amputation? Maybe they believe that working out will help them feel better about the change in their body image and appearance? Or is it an attempt to take advantage of those healthy endorphins that elevate a person’s mood and offer natural pain relief? Perhaps it’s an urge to show themselves and others what someone with a limb difference is capable of? Could it just be a desire to increase function and prevent overuse injuries?

Regardless of the reasons, we receive many inquiries, and we fit a lot of patients with activity-specific prostheses that allow them to head to the gym with confidence. Let’s take a look at some of the terminal devices we fit our patients with.

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Our patient Isaiah with his hook

We’ll start with the most basic device, a hook. It may not be the fanciest, but it can certainly get the job done when it comes to pulling on exercise machines. In the picture above, the hook our patient Isaiah is using is a passive hook that’s made by Texas Assistive Devices. While the terminal device is key to Isaiah’s workout, he also needs the socket, frame and adjustable BOA closure system to make sure he can use the prosthesis effectively, which you can see in his video below  we’ll talk more about those custom-designed pieces later.

Another item that Isaiah uses, a Black Iron Master Trainer, made by Fillauer, is also used by our patient Dakota. You can read more about Dakota’s prosthetic journey in our interview with him and his mom. In the video below, you can watch him use this terminal device.

Fillauer also has a terminal device for lighter weight workouts, called the Black Iron Trainer. That’s what our patient Claudia uses for her workouts, which you can see in her patient profile video below:

In addition to her Black Iron Trainer, Claudia uses the TRS Shroom Tumbler in her workouts, same as Isaiah, and same as our patient Wendi, who you can watch in the video below:

Did you notice the terminal device Wendi used to weightlift? It’s called a Multi-D, and it’s made by Fillauer. In the video below, you can see Xavier using a Multi-D.

Xavier and many others use the JAWS terminal device for workouts and other tasks. Our patient Kurt, uses it for various household chores in this video:

These aren’t the only devices that people use at the gym: there’s the Criterion bike adapter, the V2P, and different types of custom-made straps.

Speaking of custom-made, that’s where we come in. Other companies may make the terminal devices we fit our patients with, but it’s the socket, frame and suspension system that allow a prosthesis to fit well and be functional enough for you to do a full workout. You can learn more in our article, What Our Arm Dynamics Team Customizes for Each Patient.

In addition to customizing, our occupational therapists also teach our patients how to use their device, sometimes even accompanying them with the prosthetist to the gym so they can perfect the function of the prosthesis. You can see our prosthetist, Julian, join his patient, Max, in the video below, which is our most-watched video on YouTube:

We have been told that one of the key reasons why we’re able to fit people with devices that they’re comfortable using in the gym is because we listen to what our patients want to achieve.

If you are interested in using an upper limb prosthesis to work out and weightlift, and you’d like to see what holistic prosthetic care looks like, please contact us.

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