Fashion can be an expression of identity, an individual’s personality, or culture.
Choice of dress varies among different demographic sections, as well as between persons of various weights and other physical categories.
For example, there are some clothing brands dedicated to producing clothes for plus-sized persons.
For amputees, pants of all varieties often form part of their everyday dressing. And many of them wear their pants themselves.
Many non-amputees frequently wonder how amputees put on pants. This article answers this question in detail.
Table of Contents
- Why Amputees Wear Pants
- How Do Amputees Wear Pants?
- Qualities Required for an Amputee to Wear Pants Easily
- 2 Important Things Amputees Must Consider when Wearing Pants
- How Amputees Wear Pants (Video)
Why Amputees Wear Pants
Pants are an important part of many amputees’ fashion for many reasons.
Apart from the fact that pants help keep one warm, they cover the entire length of both legs, concealing the prosthetic legs of people who have had their legs amputated.
When wearing full-length pants, leg amputees are virtually indistinguishable from their non-amputated counterparts and colleagues.
This is particularly useful for amputees who wish to avoid attracting attention to their prosthetics.
Furthermore, independence is a key desire for many disabled persons.
Being able to wear their pants without other people’s assistance helps boost disabled persons’ sense of independence and self-esteem.
Related: Is an Amputee Considered Disabled? (Answered)
How Do Amputees Wear Pants?
How leg amputees wear pants
For amputees with one or both legs removed, getting pants on can be quite a bit of a challenge, especially when one has only recently become an amputee.
This can, however, be easy with the right techniques.
Here is a guide for leg amputees to help them wear their pants.
- Choose what pants you wish to wear. It’s best to select pants wide enough to contain your prosthetic leg. If necessary, get your pants customized so that your prosthetic leg fits nicely in it.
Jeans, sweatpants, or any other type of trousers can be used, depending on the occasion and your personal tastes
- Sit down on a solid base. This can be a bed, chair, or any other elevated surface. This gives a balanced surface upon which to start wearing pants
- Start with the non-amputated leg. It’s best to put your good leg into the pants first if you have only one leg amputated
- Put on your socks and shoe on the natural leg while still in the sitting position
- Stand on the natural leg, pull the pants up and buckle your belt. Be sure to rest on the wall or other objects around you to prevent falling. It is necessary to put on your shoe on the natural leg before standing on it to minimize the risk of slipping and falling
- Sit back down and roll back or pull the leg of the pant over your amputated leg to reveal the stump. Carefully and smoothly slip the appropriate socks and liners over the stump
- Firmly fix your prosthetic leg onto the amputated stump
- Roll the leg of the pant down over the prosthetic leg
- Fix a shoe on the feet of the artificial leg, and you’re good to go
How double leg amputees wear pants
For double-leg amputees, the following procedure can be followed.
- Put on your liners over your stumps and fix them onto your prosthetic legs
- Put the legs into the pants while still sitting. Wear your shoes now
- Lie flat backward in bed, raise your hips high enough to let you slip the pants up to your waist level
- Stand up and buckle up your belt. You’re good to go
Related: How to Easily Change a Diaper in a Wheelchair (Complete Guide)
How arm amputees wear pants
For persons who have had one of their arms amputated, it can be quite tricky to wear pants correctly.
Follow this procedure to achieve this.
- With your good hand, hold the pants in the middle, rather than the side. Holding the pants at the side makes it less balanced and trickier to manage
- Hold the pants upright and slip your feet into them carefully one after the other. Pull the pants up
- To get the button of the pants in place, hold the button and pull it towards the center of your hips. With your pointing finger holding the button in place, use your middle finger to pull the hole close. Slip in the button with your thumb
- I would like to point out that there are many other ways to get this done. Please have no hesitation to be creative and inventive with your methods
How double arm amputees wear pants
For persons who have had their two arms amputated, it is often necessary to seek the assistance of caregivers.
However, some arm amputees put on their pants independently by slipping their feet into the pants while lying on their backs, pulling them up with their toes, and by stretching their legs in different directions until the pants fit properly.
Qualities Required for an Amputee to Wear Pants Easily
To learn to wear pants independently, amputees need the following qualities.
Determination
Learning to put on pants as an amputee can be a very bumpy ride.
It takes a great deal of persistence and resilience to keep at it until one master the art.
Amputees must be determined to boost their level of independence by putting on their pants themselves.
Related: 5 Stages of Adjustment to Disability
Positivity
A positive mindset is a non-negotiable ingredient of success both for disabled and non-disabled persons alike.
For amputees, it is necessary to have an open positive mindset. This helps them take steps towards greater independence by wearing their pants on their own.
Creativity
There are no limits to the possibilities open to people who are willing to make creative and innovative use of the objects in their surroundings.
Many disabled individuals have learned to be quite inventive in creating unique means to solve their peculiar problems.
Objects used in everyday life such as door handles, hangers, and other items can be put into good creative use in helping amputees put on their pants.
2 Important Things Amputees Must Consider when Wearing Pants
Safety first
While complicated acrobatic twists can help amputees wear difficult pants, it is best to avoid these moves if one is not under the supervision of a non-disabled assistant.
It is advised for amputees to stick with techniques and methods that are relatively safe and easy to execute.
Moreover, it is crucial to wear pants carefully and methodically, as rushing the process can lead to mistakes and falls.
Practice makes perfect
To master certain techniques related to putting on pants, amputees need to practice and practice to gain experience.
Seek help when necessary.
While some pants are relatively easy to put on, others are not. It is crucial to request help from friends, families, and caregivers when dealing with difficult pants.
This said, there are certain categories of amputees, such as quadruple amputees (persons who have lost both their legs and arms) for whom self-help in wearing pants is simply impossible.
For such persons, it is necessary to use the help of a caregiver or assistant.
