Welcome To Amputee Care Center
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As a young boy in Belgian Limburg, Mario dreamed of only one thing: playing soccer in the blue and white of KRC Genk. He could already picture himself running through the Cegeka Arena, the club’s jersey on his chest, and the fans chanting his name. Soccer was his great passion.
But life had other plans. Mario eventually chose a different elite sport: motocross. He gave his all for that adrenaline rush, for the speed and the mud. Until that one day that changed everything.
During a motocross race, he suffered a complex leg fracture. A severe infection followed. The situation deteriorated rapidly. Doctors had no choice: to save his life, his leg had to be amputated. From one day to the next, Mario woke up with only one leg. The dream of sports, motocross, and soccer seemed to be over for good.
Contact us by completing the Contact Form or by calling +32 (0)470 500 888. We are at your service.
Many people would have given up. Not Mario. He is a true go-getter. He refused to accept what he had lost. Instead, he set out to find the best care and the best specialists who could truly help him move the way he wanted to again.
“I found that at Spronken Orthopedics,” he says in the newspaper article. With the right leg prosthesis and the right guidance, Mario began training again. Step by step, day after day. Less than a year after the amputation, he was already living life to the fullest again. One year after the accident, he was already able to climb stairs and go for walks. Without crutches! Not like before, but with a new strength, a new drive.
Mario underwent a knee disarticulation amputation. This amputation level provides an excellent, long residual limb and forms a strong foundation for a high-quality above-knee prosthesis. The Spronken Amputee Care Center fabricated an advanced dynamic above-knee prosthesis with an electronically controlled knee (MPK/MCK) for him. This high-tech leg prosthesis was developed using advanced 3D printing and extremely precise alignment in Spronken’s own UPLAB, located at the prosthetics center with an orthopedic workshop in Genk.
Today, 8 April, there is a lovely article with a photo about him in Het Belang van Limburg. Mario is 37 years old and proudly wears the captain’s armband of KRC Genk’s very first official amputee football team. He is the captain. He is finally playing in those blue and white colours he dreamed of as a child – only now in a different, courageous format.
In the interview, he says it himself: “I’m glad that they (KRC Genk) are working with Spronken Orthopaedics.” Without that collaboration, he would never have been able to make such a quick and successful comeback.
Read the full story of Mario Claesen in Het Belang van Limburg.
Mario’s story is one of adversity, resilience and hope. It’s the story of a dream that initially seemed to be shattered, but ultimately returned in a different, even more beautiful form. He proves that with the right mindset, the right people around you and the right prosthesis, you can not only survive… but shine once again.
Respect, Captain Mario! 💙⚽ We – at Spronken Orthopaedics and the Amputee Care Centre – consider it a great honour to be able to support you!
At the Amputee Care Centre by Spronken, specialists work every day to find solutions for people who have had an arm or leg amputated. Mario’s story shows just how far those possibilities extend in 2026. He plays amputee football without a prosthesis, using customised crutches developed by our team with extra resilience, a special wrist strap and a personalised design for each player. Because sporting aids deserve a bespoke approach too!
Our team of prosthetists, orthopaedic instrument makers, technologists, bandagers, technicians, physiotherapists and psychologists work together under one roof. Not only to find the best aid, but also to support you in your daily life: at home, at work and on the sports field. Because a prosthesis or crutch that perfectly suits who you are and what you want to do requires more than just technical knowledge. It requires people who understand the challenges of living with an amputation from the inside out and who translate that knowledge into solutions that really work. That is precisely the added value of Amputee Care Center.
At the Amputee Care BeNeLux Centre in Genk, Belgium, we don’t just focus on the prosthesis or the aid itself. Our team of specialists looks at the whole picture of you as an amputee: how do you live and move in your daily life, and which solution suits you best?
That is why we work together in a multidisciplinary way with rehabilitation doctors and surgeons to offer each patient comprehensive, tailor-made care as a single team. Because everyone deserves the best possible care for an optimal quality of life. That is always our goal.
Through systematic follow-up and timely adjustments, we can provide the best care. Long-term support is therefore not an extra, but an essential part of our approach.
Amputee Care Center is a specialist unit of Spronken Orthopedie, a family-run business that has been active in technical orthopaedics and prosthetics for over 60 years, not only in Belgium and the Netherlands but throughout Europe. Under the leadership of Caius Spronken – the third generation – the company has grown to become a true pioneer in the Benelux and beyond. Innovation plays a central role in this: our team continues to invest in new techniques, lighter materials and better solutions for people with an amputation.
The partnership with KRC Genk Foundation fits perfectly with that vision. After all, sport is a powerful tool for rehabilitation, self-confidence and a sense of belonging. Mario puts it beautifully himself: in his team, he comes into contact with fellow amputees who truly understand what he has been through. That sense of belonging, off the pitch, makes all the difference.
The development of aids for amputees is advancing at a rapid pace. Thanks to new technologies, prostheses and orthopaedic aids are becoming increasingly well-suited to the user’s body and daily life. At Amputee Care Centre, our focus is therefore always on innovation and on providing the best possible support. Ultimately, a high-quality prosthetics centre is not just about the technology, but also about the person.
As Caius Spronken, CEO of Spronken Orthopaedics, puts it: ‘The most important question we must always ask ourselves is: how can we help to maximise the quality of life for the person receiving care?’
Are you an amputee and would you like to find out more about the options available? Perhaps you’re not entirely satisfied with your current leg or arm prosthesis, or would you like to learn more about modern comprehensive care and next-generation solutions? You’re welcome to request a free, no-obligation second opinion.
Contact us by completing the Contact Form or by calling +32 (0)470 500 888. We are at your service.
Spronken is a NEN-EN-ISO 13485-certified supplier of orthopaedic equipment. Over the past 60 years, Spronken has grown into one of the largest companies in the fields of orthoses, prostheses, mobility and state-of-the-art rehabilitation equipment in Europe.
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