Stepping Forward: Understanding Prosthetics and Orthotics – Part One: Prosthetics and Orthotics 101

In this first episode of Stepping Forward: Understanding Prosthetics and Orthotics, we speak with Jason Auyer, LCPO, and Owner of Alliance Prosthetics and Orthotics. He lays the foundation by exploring the essential questions: How do you know when someone needs a prosthetic or orthotic device? When should healthcare providers make a referral? And how can patients and clinicians be sure they're in the right place for the right care? Whether you're a clinician, student, or someone navigating this journey personally, this episode offers practical guidance and insights to help you confidently take the first step.

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Guest: Jason Auyer, LCPO, Owner of Alliance Prosthetics and Orthotics

Host: Rachael Auyer, Co-Owner of Alliance Prosthetics and Orthotics

Producer: Laine Johnson, Alliance Prosthetics and Orthotics, Marketing Assistant

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

On today's episode, we begin a three-part series entitled Stepping Forward Understanding Prosthetics and Orthotics. Today is the 101. We are so glad you're here. Jason, thank you so much for joining us. Let me go ahead and start and state my bias. You are my favorite prosthetist and orthodist because we're married.

SPEAKER_01 0:27

That's good.

SPEAKER_00 0:27

Um, my favorite joke is you're my favorite male prosthetist. But in this scenario, I feel it's best we start with what is a prosthetic and orthotic device. Because our listeners are probably a little confused as why I'm calling you a male prosthetist.

SPEAKER_01 0:44

Okay. So uh uh as far as a prosthesis or an orthosis, so a prosthesis, we're replacing something that was lost. So as a prosthetist, I work with amputees that are um dealing with uh limb loss. Um so it could be from an accident, it could be from a disease, but they've had their leg or their arm amputated. And so a prosthesis or a prosthetic device is something that we would put on the patient to help to restore function for that limb that was lost. And then on the orthotic side, so an orthotic device or an orthosis is uh something that we would use for a patient who has weakness, maybe they have pain or some kind of deformity that they need support from the brace. So you think about a football player that's wearing a knee brace, right? He's using that to prevent injury and stabilize his knee. Um that's an example of an orthotic device or an orthosis.

SPEAKER_00 1:37

Thank you so much for explaining that in regular people terms. So we were wondering, could you explain the education and your background? Maybe tell us how you got into the field and what you're currently doing to stay on the cusp of all of the new information.

SPEAKER_01 1:57

You got it. Absolutely. So my background is in mechanical engineering. So I have my undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering, and after that I went back to school. Um right now, if you were to go back to school, you'd get your master's, so it'd be a two year master's degree in orthotics and prosthetics. When I went to school is before the master's program. So I have a certificate in orthotics and our certificate in prosthetics. After that's completed, you have to take a uh 18 to 24 month residency. So similar to a physician or a doctor that's going through a res residency, that's where we are actively working with patients. We are working underneath someone who is already certified and licensed uh in the field. And that's when we're getting more of that practical knowledge. Um you know, you asked the question about staying uh on the cusp of the new technology and making sure that we're providing the best for patients. Uh even though we've learned all this in school, we've gone through residency, the field, just like any field, is ever changing. There's new technology that comes out, there's new methods uh that we're utilizing, new uh designs that we're doing. Um and so uh I am a part of our state organization, so the Georgia Society of Orthodox and Prostatists, I'm actually the president of that organization. Uh we have national organizations as well. So there's a lot of a continuing education that we're doing. I actually just came from uh we had a manufacturer come in and show us a brand new prosthetic knee that has been recently uh released here in the United States to learn about that. So we always want to make sure we're providing uh the best for our patients.

SPEAKER_00 3:25

Thank you. No, that is so helpful. So with all of the years of practice, now remind me how long have you been a prosthetist orthodist?

SPEAKER_01 3:35

So I got in the field in 2005, in 2025, so quick math, 20 years right now. 20 years.

SPEAKER_00 3:41

It felt more like 40 years, but I guess 20 years.

SPEAKER_01 3:45

So given that I'm 41, that would be a stretch for the 40, but I understand it, it has felt like a long time. Yeah, it has like a long time.

SPEAKER_00 3:52

Um I was wondering what do you find the most rewarding about your profession and not just owning Alliance prosthetics and orthotics, but really in patient care.

SPEAKER_01 4:04

So there's a lot of things that I love. Um I'd say one of the things that immediately came to mind when you were talking about that is uh seeing patients achieve goals that they may not have thought they would be able to. So when when patients come in our doors, or maybe we're seeing an amputee for the first time at the hospital, a lot of times they can be very hopeless. Um, how am I gonna get back to life? What is what is it gonna look like? I I can't do all these things. They they don't even know how they're gonna be able to move or walk or function. And I tell patients when I see them in the hospital, I already have a picture in my mind of six months down the road or a year down the road of the things they're gonna achieve. And so we just had this last week. We had a patient who had lost their leg below their knee, and we talked about goals we wanted them to set, things that were important to them. Uh, and one of their goals is she wanted to be able to dance in the kitchen, she l you know, dancing with her uh with her kids. And so she came in and brought in her goal, and then we paused and we celebrated. And when we told this patient, hey, we're gonna celebrate this because this is a big deal, you know, the tears started to well up just a little bit, and she realized that, hey, this is something I thought maybe I'd be able to do again, but I didn't know for sure, and I've done it, and we're pausing to celebrate. I love those moments because in the end we believe all of our patients have inherent value and worth, and sometimes it's very hard for them to recognize that. But when they can achieve one of these goals, it helps them to see, wow, life can still be great, there's still hope for the future, and I love being a part of that with patients.

SPEAKER_00 5:36

That is my favorite part of our job as well.

SPEAKER_01 5:40

You can't steal it, you gotta come up with a new one.

SPEAKER_00 5:42

I know, but that is what I love that we get to do day in and day out at Alliance. Now, uh, I want to transition. So this is more geared toward people who are not quite sure if they are eligible for an orthotic device or a prosthetic device. If you could imagine someone off the street asking, hey, I'm having a fill-in the blank issue, would this be something I could use? Could you give us some background of when would it be appropriate to reach out to an orthoticist, prosthetist?

SPEAKER_01 6:15

Sure. I think on the prosthetic side, it's a little bit easier because you realize, hey, I'm missing a limb. Um, I am missing part of my foot, part of my hand, even a finger or a toe. Um, if it is impeding their function, um, and that would be an easy, yes, come come and see us, let us evaluate. The the good thing is that all of our consultations are completely free. So just because you come in and want to have more information, there's no cost for that. Uh so prosthetically, I feel like it's a little bit easier. Orthotically, it can be a little bit more challenging. Hey, when do I need something? Um, there's so many different things we do uh in orthotics. Uh everything from custom inserts inside my shoe because I have foot pain, maybe because I have flat feet, to hey, I have gone through a traumatic brain injury or a spinal cord injury because of an accident, or I just suffered a stroke and I'm having weakness or difficulty functioning with my hands or with my legs, or I'm having a lot of back pain and instability there. Think about a brace as we're trying to come alongside this either you know weakened member of the body or portion of the body, or something that is causing pain and trying to relieve that. Now, you could hear that and be like, oh, I guess if I have any kind of pain or any kind of problem with my with my my body, I should come and see an orthopedist. That's not not true. But there's a lot uh when there's weakness, especially I can't move my foot, I can't move my knee, I'm unstable, I'm falling. Those types of things, those could be immediately. I wonder if an orthotic device could be helpful for me. And again, similarly, consultations are free, you can always come in, but anything that we do, orthotically or prosthetically, has to go through a doctor's prescription. And so even if you came in off the street, which we've had that happen, um, we would get you connected with a physician so we could get a prescription, whether we're going through insurance or not, we would need that.

SPEAKER_00 8:09

That makes total sense. Thank you for already bridging the gap. I wanted to talk about the referral source. Okay. Imagine I'm a therapist or a physician, and I have a patient in office, and I'm not quite sure if I need to refer over to Alliance or another prosthetic and orthotic clinic. Of course, they'll choose Alliance. But just in the event that they wanted to know, hey, what should we do? Tell us what would be the best steps for the referral source.

SPEAKER_01 8:36

Yeah. I think one of the things this could be for physicians, or these could be for therapists, which again are typically probably our biggest referrals, sometimes case managers, there can be nurses. Sometimes I think the the barrier is not knowing, well, can an orthosis really help this patient? Can a prosthesis really help this patient? We've had patients that we have seen that maybe they lost part of their hand, and their physician or their therapist just didn't know that there were options that were out there. Um, oddically, we've had patients that have gone through a stroke and they have something called drop foot where they have a difficulty picking up their toes. And maybe it's been 10 years and they've never been fit with an orthosis. And it was just because the physician or the therapist didn't know, didn't know that there was an option. And so the reason I bring all that up is we don't require our physicians or our therapists to know all that we can do, right? I mean, that's not for them to be able to know. Our hope is that they look at us as a resource. So when there is a patient that has some kind of weakness or problem on the orthotic side, their thought is, hmm, I wonder if an orthotic device could be helpful. Let me reach out to an orthodist, let me reach out to Jason, let me reach out to Lyons and just have a conversation. I say this every time I meet with therapists or with doctors. Please never feel bad asking. The worst we can say is, you know what, I don't think there's anything we could do to help this patient. The best thing that could happen is that maybe that device would be life-changing for them or really help to augment the uh medical care that they're already receiving from the physician or from the therapist. Again, prosthetically, usually it's an easier step to get there because you can see the need. But again, missing part of a foot. We've had patients that have gone through that and they just stuff a sock at the end of their shoe and they don't realize there's something else that we could do to help to restore function.

SPEAKER_00 10:24

Thank you so much for helping us understand next steps. Were you inspired or challenged today? If so, connect with us. Follow the links in the description box below. We want to hear from you. Until next time, thanks for listening to the Alliance Goldigger podcast.