Development of Knitted Compression Covers for Amputated Limbs

Abstract

Compression therapy can be successfully applied to the treatment of amputated limbs. Compression is known to speed healing and reduce the appearance of complex scars. This is particularly relevant as the number of amputations increases, especially during times of war, such as the current war in Ukraine. For the research presented in this article, compression knits of two pattern repeats and twelve structural variations each were created. We investigated how the compression generated by the knit is influenced by the main factors which theoretically could have an effect: knitting pattern, density of loops, speed of the wheel supplying elastomeric inlay-yarn into the knitting zone, and elongation resulting from the difference between the knitted limb cover and limb circumference. It was found that in the area of low elongations (up to 50%) of the investigated elastomeric knits, the speed of supply of the inlay-yarn does not have a significant influence on the compression. However, the effect of loop density and knitting elongation on the generated compression is significant and manifests linearly. In addition, the established equations can be used for compression prediction and knitting design according to the required compression class.