What’s your favorite part of summer? Is it the longer days and colorful summer sunsets? Is it a summer vacation to your favorite beach or mountain getaway? For many, favorite summer sports means enjoyment of the season along with unique opportunities to get outside and enjoy nature or spend time with family, friends, and teammates.

At Kenney Orthopedics, we help orthotic and prosthetic users gain confidence in working with their new devices. This includes participating in the vast and ever-growing options for adaptive summer sports.  Have you tried these popular adaptive summer sports yet?

• archery
• badminton
• basketball
• biking (road/mountain)
• fencing
• lacrosse
• rowing
• soccer
• swimming
• table tennis
• tennis
• track and field

When it comes to adaptive summer sports, if you’re not feeling ready and prepared, you’re not going to enjoy yourself. That’s because there are many challenges for prosthetic users during summer that come from the season’s elevated heat and humidity. So, it’s important to prepare properly if you want to join in summer adaptive sports in a safe and enjoyable manner.

3 Tips to Prepare for Adaptive Summer Sports

1. Be Prepared to Perspire

If you’re going to participate in adaptive summer sports, then you need to be prepared to sweat in high temperatures and humidity across the country. While sweat serves the important purpose of cooling our bodies, it can be a hazard for prosthetic users. Sweat affects the fit of a prosthesis and excessive moisture can cause slippage that in turn irritates skin. Moisture can also affect electrical components on prosthetics, so it’s important to be aware of how the summer heat affects your body so that you can be prepared to combat it appropriately. When you know you’re going to sweat, make sure you’re carving out time throughout the day to remove, clean and dry your prosthetic device and residual limb. You’ll also want to keep extra socks on-hand and if needed use an antiperspirant. Some prosthetic users will also need a seasonal adjustment to their devices to compensate for the physical changes such as swelling that hot weather can induce.

2. Understand the Muscles in Play

Adaptive summer sports encompass a wide range of activities that may utilize vastly different muscle groups. Think about body use during tennis vs. mountain biking. Prepare for the sport of your interest by understanding what muscle groups will be in play, then working to build them up. Of course, no matter what adaptive summer sports you're enjoying, balance and stability play a role. Amputee walking schools are a great place to practice balance and work on flexibility, stability and confidence when using a prosthetic.

3. Seek Advice When You’re Not Sure

Sports are all about competition but also cooperation within a team, so be sure you’re seeking help when needed. After all, the goal is to enjoy yourself and maybe even win, but neither will happen if you don’t know what you’re doing. Connect with others in your chosen sport’s community to learn more about the game and grow as a player. As always, connect with your healthcare team at Kenney Orthopedics to make sure your body and your prosthetic are primed for victory.

Ready to Get Started?

Get ready to enjoy your favorite adaptive summer sports with help from the team at Kenney Orthopedics. With locations in Kentucky, Indiana, and North Carolina, you’ll find quality prosthetic care whether you need a new device, a fitting for your existing device, or are looking for special programs for amputees including our Amputee Walking Schools and our Peer Mentor Program. Contact the team at Kenney Orthopedics to learn more. We look forward to working with you!