Apart from all the technical selection criteria, your O&P professional will keep in mind your personal needs, living situation and goals when choosing the foot prosthesis. These factors might be the desire to participate in sports activities or the ability to paint your toenails. These are of great importance because your prosthetic foot should be like an extension of yourself.

Your amputation level will be one of the first things that needs to be looked at when chosing the components in your prosthesis. An above knee amputation requires a prosthetic knee joint and the type of knee joint will help to define the appropriate prosthetic foot. This is where your O&P professional will assess the functions of the prosthetic knee joint and recommend an appropriate prosthetic foot. Because the natural knee joint is intact after a below knee amputation, your O&P professional will consider factors like length of the residual limb, strength and range of motion when recommending an appropriate foot prosthesis.

Manufacturers categorize prosthetic feet by the user’s activity level – also called mobility grade. This means that not every prosthetic foot can be used by every user. Selecting a prosthesis that matches your activity level will maximize your mobility and your quality of life. If you are on the border between two activity levels, your O&P professional will consider multiple products to assess the one that is best for you.

Prosthetic feet are designed for a specific weight range. To ensure that a prosthetic foot performs well for you, your O&P professional will choose one suited to your weight class.

Like human feet, prosthetic feet differ in length and size. Prosthetic feet are sized by cm rather than standard shoe sizes. Every foot is available in a specific range of sizes. There are prosthetic feet that come in sizes for children while others are even sized for large adults. Ottobock running blades and specialty sports feet often have a a single size.

A foot prosthesis has to feel good for you to meet your activity goals. Prosthetic feet are designed to mimic a human foot at a specific activity level. For lower activity individuals, a prosthetic foot is designed to provide stability and balance. For those who are most active, a prosthetic foot must mimic the natural foot during the act of walking. It must act as a shock absorber as you strike your heel to the ground, adapt to uneven terrain, provide a smooth rollover from heel to toe, and provide a rigid lever for propelling forward when you finish your step (“toe-off”).

Some prosthetic feet are designed to mimic the ankle which allows the foot to move in multiple planes. Multi-axial capability in a foot allows the foot to absorb varying terrain by moving in all directions. These motions are forward to back, side to side and rotation around the ankle. Multi-axial motion is needed to walk comfortably and confidently on uneven ground where your foot must adapt to whatever it encounters.

Today’s more sophisticated feet add more functions and are secured inside a cosmetic shell. Most people never see their prosthetic foot without this exterior shell. The cosmetic shell stretches around the prosthetic foot and serves two purposes:

• It makes your prosthetic foot look like an anatomical foot.

• It fits snugly in your shoe.

The materials in a prosthetic foot differ by activity level. Wood, plastic and foam are usually found in feet designed for individuals who have low activity levels and require stability. Lightweight carbon fibre feet meet the functional needs of active individuals since they are built for shock absorption and energy efficiency.