Salford academic leads research into problems faced by travellers with artificial limbs

Dr Vikranth Harthikote Nagaraja, a University Fellow, says this research highlights the urgent need for a global and inclusive approach for people who use prosthetics and who often face discrimination and difficulties when trying to travel.

“Unfortunately, our research has found people with prostheses – including the general public and Para athletes – have faced humiliating experiences while travelling.

“For example, one woman was left without her waterproof prosthetic leg for her entire holiday after an airline lost the bag she packed it into. Another was told to remove her leg for screening by security staff. All too often, travellers with prostheses feel discriminated against.

“It would be fantastic if we could make the legacy of Paris 2024 a commitment to improving research, clinical practice and education in this area,” said Vikranth.

Vikranth and the study team searched all major databases for peer-reviewed literature, and studied documents from professional bodies, government websites and airlines. They also directly approached amputees, including veterans and athletes and found that until now, there appears to be no academic literature published on travelling with a prosthetic limb, meaning guidance and health advice is scarce.

The University of Salford’s internationally acclaimed Prosthetics and Orthotics (P&O) department hosts the £6 million UK EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in P&O. It is currently training 60 PhD students.

In addition to the Doctoral teams, Salford is currently the only university in England that offers a full-time undergraduate BSc (Hons) in Prosthetics and Orthotics, training nearly 1000 specialists since it opened in 1995.

Previously carrying out research at Oxford University, Dr Nagaraja is now preparing to share his findings widely. The full research article, published in collaboration with Dr Irmgard Bauer (James Cook University, Australia), can be found in BMC’s Tropical Diseases, Travel Medicine and Vaccines journal.