The adjustment and new identity of athletes with prosthetic limbs: A qualitative study

Katsanou, Alkmini L.; Anagnostopoulos, Fotios; Fragkiadaki, Eva

Abstract

OBJECTIVE Exploration of the experience of engaging in parasports by people with prosthetic limbs. METHOD The
sample consisted of 8 Paralympic athletes. The main inclusion criteria were lower-limb amputation, a prosthetic implant,
and professional involvement in sports. Data collection was carried out through semi-structured interviews,
and interpretative phenomenological analysis was used for data analysis. RESULTS Three super-ordinate themes
and seven subthemes emerged from the qualitative analysis of the interview data. The first theme concerned
life before and after the amputation, the loss of able-bodiedness, and the establishment of physical disability,
with subthemes including the resulting reactions, fears for the future, and the new dynamics and reshaping of
interpersonal rela-tionships. The second theme reflected the transition from disability to artificial able-bodiedness,
with subthemes including training in the use of the prosthetic limb, ambivalent interaction with the process of
prosthesis fitting and embodi-ment, the related sacrifices, and the beginning of involvement in parasports. The
third theme concerned the new identity and new life, as these emerged through joining athletic teams with other
people with prosthetic limbs, and the acquisition of the athletic identity. The emergent subtheme was cognitive
restructuring, resulting in positive at-titudes towards the amputation, the prosthetic limb and participation in
parasports. CONCLUSIONS Sports play a major role in the adjustment of amputees to prosthetic limb use, and
their reevaluation of the amputation experi-ence. The loss of a lower limb continued to be an issue for all
participants, but maintenance of physical and mental wellbeing, along with athletic achievements, the recognition
gained, the public acclaim received and the reputation and social acceptance that parasports provided, helped Paralympic athletes to become reconciled with the amputation and adjust to the use of the prosthetic limb.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 13, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Jul 1, 2020
• Publication Date: Jul 1, 2020
• Deposit Date: Jul 27, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 2, 2020
• Print ISSN: 1105-3992
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 37
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 504-514
• Keywords: Acquired amputation, Athletic identity, Cognitive adjustment, Interpretative phenomenological analysis, Paralympians
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/6414629
• Publisher URL: http://www.mednet.gr/archives/2020-4/504abs.html