Power has a variety of meanings. It refers to the ability to have influence, authority, or control over people, circumstances, or events; the ability to act or to do something; a force or energy that can be applied to work; and physical or mental strength. When an accident results in upper-limb loss, all of these definitions may come into play, leaving a person feeling powerless and out of control. Upper-limb loss can deprive individuals of much of their ability to participate in areas around which so much of life revolves-family, work, recreation. Even everyday activities such as eating, combing hair, and dressing can become difficult or even impossible. Regardless of the cause, learning to be functionally independent with upper-limb loss is a challenge for the patient and his or her healthcare team. For the prosthetist, restoring quality of life through improving function involves creating a prosthesis with the largest functional envelope possible within the parameters of the amputee’s circumstances.“The functional envelope involving the upper limb consists of multiple spheres of action that are integrated and determined by the shoulder complex, elbow, wrist, and hand,” writes Jayne Drummey, CPO, in “Enhancing the Functional Envelope: A Review of Upper-Limb Prosthetic Treatment Modalities” (The Academy TODAY, June 2009).
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