When you need a prosthetic, most insurance companies will cover very general prosthetics. By general, you will get the two- or three-pronged claw hand and lower arm or the fake leg that is just enough to help you stand and walk about. It is the most basic of supports and replacement limbs. Then there are custom prosthetics. These are more advanced, better-looking, and can do more than just provide you mobility and a little extra independence. Insurance generally does not cover the custom prosthetics, which means that you will have to pay for them out of your own pocket. Here is why you should spring for and buy the custom faux limbs instead of taking what insurance will give you for free.
Customs Fit Better
These custom limbs fit better because they are designed to fit your remaining limb parts perfectly. There is no rubbing or slipping of the faux limb because the faux limb fits like a glove over the stump of an arm, leg, knee, elbow, shoulder, etc. You will not have to have extra wrappings to make your faux limb fit more comfortably because it will automatically fit.
Customs Can Do More
The "claw" prosthetic for your hand and lower arm will help you grab things and get dressed, but they are not especially good for small manipulative movements, such as typing, writing with a pen or pencil, throwing a ball, or holding onto a wiggly baby without poking the baby with the metal fingers. A custom prosthetic for your hand and lower arm can do much more, and it will look more like a natural hand to everyone around you than the traditional prosthetic. A prosthetic leg will help you run faster, leap higher, and feel like a bionic person because it provides you with more than just your natural ability to move.
Customs Look More Natural or Just Very Cool
When you order a custom limb, it can look as real and as natural as you want it to look. In instances where you need a prosthetic for sports performance, the prosthetic takes on a very robotic but cool appearance. It just depends what you need the custom limb to do and what you intend to use it for. Some people, especially those that play and compete in sports, have fake limbs for sports practice, fake limbs for competition, and a separate set of fake limbs just for everyday wear.