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If you have an amputation or congenital hand difference, you might be interested in a prosthetic hand. Today’s prosthetics are lightweight and versatile. Different types of hand prostheses can help you accomplish different tasks.
A prosthetic hand, or hand prosthesis, is an artificial replacement for an absent or sub-functional hand or part of your hand. A prosthetic hand can be as simple as a hook or as high-tech as a bionic hand.
A certified prosthetist can help you select the best hand prosthesis for your needs and lifestyle. They’ll also help you get the right fit, train you to use it and make adjustments as your needs change over time.
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You might be interested in a hand prosthesis if you've had or plan to have a partial or whole hand amputation. Different types of prostheses are available for different types of amputations, including:
Children born with congenital hand differences or absences may also benefit from a hand prosthesis. Children who start early with a prosthetic device can grow and develop with it, including those with:
Different types of prosthetic hand devices compensate for different hand differences and disabilities. There are a variety of partial finger, whole finger, partial hand and whole hand designs available.
Different types of hand prostheses also operate differently and offer different levels of functionality. Some types offer a more lifelike appearance, while others look and function more practically.
Passive prostheses fit onto your existing limb and fill in the parts you don’t have. They’re called “passive” because they don’t function independently. But you can use them as a stabilizer or a carrying surface.
Passive prostheses, because they aren’t high-tech, can have a highly realistic appearance. A silicone restoration is a mostly cosmetic prosthesis that’s custom painted to look just like your natural hand.
As the most basic type of hand prosthesis, a passive prosthesis is likely to be the first type you’ll learn to adjust to living with. It’s also what healthcare providers usually recommend for a baby’s first prosthesis.
As you become more adept with hand prostheses, you might want to move on to a more functional type. But you might also want to keep a passive prosthesis for certain purposes, like social occasions.
A body-powered hand prosthesis is a mechanical device that operates using a type of pulley system. You use the muscles in your residual limb to pull on a cable attached to the device to make it open or close.
If you have a body-powered whole prosthetic hand, you use your upper arm, shoulder and/or chest muscles to operate it. Body-powered fingers or fingertips attach to a band on your knuckle or wrist.
Most body-powered hand prostheses are rugged designs made for accomplishing practical tasks. They don’t take a lot of calibrating, and as they’re not electronic, it’s OK to get them wet and dirty.
A body-powered hook hand with adjustable grasping force is a popular choice for doing manual labor. There are also body-powered hand prostheses that look more natural, but they’re not as versatile.
While most prosthetic hands are designed to help you accomplish the miscellaneous tasks of daily living, some special tasks require a specialized tool. That’s what activity-specific prosthetic hands are for.
If you need a prosthesis to allow you to do your job, sport or hobby, you can get one specifically designed for that activity. A prosthetist will work with you to design a prosthesis that does what you need it to.
Activity-specific prosthetic hands can allow you to operate machinery, play an instrument or work out. They can help adults return to their former occupations and pastimes, and help children discover theirs.
This type of hand prosthesis is likely to be an alternate in your collection. You might use it at work and use a different one at home or vice versa. You might even have different ones for different activities.
A myoelectric prosthesis is an electronic device that responds to electrical impulses generated by your muscles. (“Myo” means muscle.) You learn how to squeeze your muscles to activate different functions.
Electrodes on your skin read your muscle contractions and signal to the device to make it open or close. This uses less force than a body-powered prosthesis, so it’s less stressful on your muscles over time.
You can get articulating myoelectric fingers or a whole myoelectric hand. A single-motor prosthetic hand can only open and close. But multi-articulating prosthetic hands have articulating fingers and thumbs.
These bionic hands have a futuristic, robotic look. Some come with a lifelike, removable silicone skin. You can program them to hold different positions and to open and close in different grip patterns.
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Acquiring your own hand prosthesis and learning to use it is a big project. It will take time, patience and practice on your part, and you can expect to get to know your healthcare team really well in the process.
Here’s a brief breakdown of the steps involved:
Not everyone with an absent or sub-functional hand chooses to use a hand prosthesis. Some people learn to adapt in other ways — for instance, by using other body parts, like teeth or feet.
Some people might not feel the benefit they would receive from using a prosthesis outweighs the cost and effort involved — especially if their job or lifestyle doesn’t really rely on having two hands.
However, even if you aren’t overly concerned with the practical benefits of a prosthesis, there are health benefits to consider. Your healthcare provider might recommend it for these reasons.
Using a hand prosthesis helps your remaining limb — and the rest of your body — work more closely to the way it would with two functioning hands. This distributes stress more evenly among your muscles.
Not using a hand prosthesis can cause you to overuse your opposite side, leading to risks like:
Potential risks and side effects of using a hand prosthesis include:
These risks are mostly avoidable with proper fitting, training and maintenance.
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Many variables can affect how long it takes to adapt to your hand prosthesis, including the type you have, what you want to use it for, the way you practice and any complications you might be having.
Your healthcare team will work closely with you to design a customized exercise routine and a consistent schedule for practicing skills. This part of your rehabilitation can take up to a year.
Learning to use your body and your prosthesis cooperatively to complete a task takes time. Learning to program a bionic hand and toggle between the different movement patterns can take even longer.
While you’re learning to use your prosthetic hand physically, you’ll also be adapting to it mentally and emotionally. This process has its own timeline. Remember to practice patience and self-compassion.
When you and your healthcare team feel you’ve successfully adapted to your new prosthesis, you may not need to continue with regular physical therapy. Some people do, though, just like physical training.
In any case, your relationship with your prosthetist is likely to be a long-term one. You’ll need repairs and adjustments to your prosthesis over the years, as your physical and practical needs may change.
All prosthetics have an expiration date, so you’ll need to repeat the fitting process at that time. Technology also continues to evolve, and you may decide to upgrade your prosthesis before then.
As always, be sure to call on your healthcare team if discomfort or complications develop related to your prosthesis. They’ll advise you on treating and preventing issues like muscle strain and skin irritation.
Researchers are working on developing ways to mimic sensation in a bionic hand. Several experimental models are in development, but sensation in a prosthesis isn’t an anticipated feature in the near future.
A multi-articulating bionic hand has a tiny motor in each finger, which allows the fingers to move in different ways. They don’t move spontaneously, though. You must program the movements in advance.
A bionic hand with a variety of grip patterns can drive a car with an automatic transition. But you might want to install some modifications, too, like a steering wheel spinner or push-button controls.
Hands hold an elevated status in human culture. They’re central to our idea of what makes us human. Whether you’ve lost a hand or were born with a hand difference, no one is immune to these ideas.
Hands are also central to how we learn to interact with the world, both practically and socially. If you learned this way, it’s natural to want to replace an absent or sub-functional hand with an artificial one.
Prosthetic hands and fingers don’t work exactly like human ones, but you can learn to use them to accomplish most things. Whatever your goal is, begin by believing in yourself and your healthcare team.
Adapting to a prosthetic hand isn’t easy, and it’s fair to expect some ups and downs in the process. Don’t forget there’s a community of others who you can talk to who’ve made the same journey before you.
Last reviewed on 08/06/2024.
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Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy
