Achieving Successful rehabilitation for amputees
What is it about?
The aims of the study were to investigate if a) individuals with primary lower limb amputation (IPLLAs) attending a regional outpatient prosthetic rehabilitation service achieve successful mobility outcomes, b) to examine the multi-disciplinary team’s ability to accurately predict mobility outcome and c) to evaluate how pre-amputation mobility levels affect mobility outcomes of IPPLAs. Fifty-six percent of participants who completed the 12 month post rehabilitation assessment (n = 68) achieved mobility success. There was a highly significant correlation between pre-rehabilitation and 12 month post-rehabilitation SIGAM scores demonstrating that the MDT’s predictions significantly correlated to the post-rehabilitation SIGAM scores. There was a highly significant association between pre-amputation mobility levels and mobility success post-rehabilitation at 12 month follow-up such that those who were ambulatory independently pre-amputation were significantly more likely to achieve mobility success post-rehabilitation. CONCLUSION:IPLLAs attending an outpatient rehabilitation service can achieve successful mobility outcomes. The MDT was found to be accurate in its predictions of mobility outcome in this cohort. Greater pre-amputation mobility was significantly associated with successful mobility outcomes.
Why is it important?
This is important as the effects of out-patient rehabilitation for individuals with lower limb amputation has not been examined previously.