Beyond exercise. Can application of manual therapy before exercise benefit a low functioning person with limb loss? A case study.

BACKGROUND: Most people with lower-limb loss (PLL) have musculoskeletal conditions and range-of-motion and muscle performance impairments. Such impairments limit potential for functional movement but can be reduced with manual therapy. Manual therapy, however, is rarely used for PLL. This case demonstrated how integrating manual therapy, exercise, and functional training led to lasting benefits for one low functioning PLL. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 54-year-old woman more than 1 year after transtibial amputation due to peripheral artery disease presented with multiple comorbidities and yellow flags. Her function remained limited to the Medicare K-1 household walking level with slow gait speed <0.25 m/s. Treatment included four weekly sessions each beginning with manual therapy, followed by exercise and functional training. OUTCOMES: After 1 month, performance-based strength, balance, walking speed, and physical activity increased. She advanced to the K-2 limited community walking level and maintained her functional level without further treatment after 3 months. DISCUSSION: Improvements maintained without treatment expanded upon research that lacked follow-up and excluded K-1 level walkers. Marked improvement after only four sessions was noteworthy since exercise protocols require ≥4 sessions. CONCLUSION: Manual therapy followed by exercise and functional training may optimize movement potential and contribute to improving strength, balance, gait, and physical activity among PLL.

Walking asymmetry and its relation to patient-reported and performance-based outcome measures in individuals with unilateral lower limb loss.

Gait asymmetry persists for most people after lower limb amputation and is associated with slower walking speeds. However, the relationship between gait asymmetry and patient-reported function remains unclear because they are not commonly assessed together. The purpose of this study was to determine relationships between gait asymmetries in people with lower limb loss and (1) patient-reported outcomes and (2) performance-based prosthetic functional measures. This cross-sectional analysis included nine people with unilateral limb loss aged 48.2 ± 13.1 years of mixed amputation etiology. Patient-reported outcomes included the Prosthetic Evaluation Questionnaire mobility subscale and Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale. Performance outcomes included the Berg Balance Scale and the 30-second sit-to-stand test. Walking performance measures included the 2-Minute Walk Test, during which APDM Opal sensors recorded spatiotemporal gait parameters, and daily step-counts from StepWatch4 activity monitors. The study found that the most asymmetric gait symmetry ratios (prosthetic-limb divided by intact-limb) could be attributed to prosthetic foot dorsiflexion-plantarflexion and rotation motion limitations: prosthetic-limb trailing double support (0.789 ± 0.052), toe-off (0.760 ± 0.068) and toe-out angle (0.653 ± 0.256). Single limb stance, and stance and swing phase durations were most strongly associated with balance and walking performance measures. Notably, no symmetry ratio was significantly associated with patient-reported prosthetic function (unadjusted Pearson correlation coefficients r < 0.50, P > 0.05). More gait symmetry was associated with better balance and walking performance but had no significant relationship with patient-reported function. Although achieving gait symmetry after lower limb loss is a common walking goal, symmetry was unrelated to the perception of functional mobility for people with lower limb loss.

Preliminary analysis of reliability and validity of the Life Space Questionnaire as a real-world mobility measure for people with lower limb loss: A technical note.

People with lower-limb loss (PLL) often have reduced mobility that translates into limited community access. The Life Space Questionnaire (LSQ) measures a person's real-world mobility within their home environment and community but has not been used among PLL. This study assessed preliminary LSQ test-retest reliability and discriminant validity from subjective and objective balance and walking measures in PLL. In addition, LSQ was hypothesized to have an inverse association with overall health status. Nine subjects were analyzed with mean age 48.2 ± 13.1 years and 4.8 ± 3.9 years' time since amputation. Six had transtibial and three had transfemoral amputations due to diabetes (4), vascular disease (3), and trauma (2). The primary outcome was the LSQ, a 9-level scale quantifying the extent to which people accessed their life space including home, yard, and community. Test-retest reliability for the LSQ was moderate (intraclass coefficient = 0.61 with 90% confidence interval: 0.19-0.87). Discriminant validity from balance and walking function was demonstrated by lack of correlation between LSQ score and the Activities-specific Balance Confidence and Berg Balance Scale and the Prosthetic Evaluation Questionnaire mobility subscale and walking speed (r < 0.50, P > .05). LSQ correlated with health status assessed with the Charlson Comorbidity Index (r = -0.84, P = .005). In this sample of PLL, the LSQ demonstrated moderate test-retest reliability as a measure of real-world mobility distinct as a construct from subjective and objective balance or walking measures. People may access their communities using various levels of assistance and methods of transportation. For this sample of PLL, health status was most strongly associated with LSQ score.

Quantifying the risk of falls and injuries for amputees beyond annual fall rates-A longitudinal cohort analysis based on person-step exposure over time.

People with lower-limb loss (PLL) have high annual fall and injury rates. People with transtibial amputations have better walking function than those with transfemoral amputations but paradoxically incur more fall-related injuries. Risk exposure, however, has not been previously considered. This study examined whether all-cause fall and injury incidence per person-step exposure over time varied in PLL of different walking abilities. The prospective cohort design, conducted at a major medical center, included five assessments 1-month apart. Walking ability level was categorized by Houghton Scale scores: ≥9 indicating community walking and ≤ 8 indicating limited community-household walking. Accelerometer-measured daily step counts were collected via StepWatch4 monitors. The main outcome measures, self-reported all-cause falls and injuries were assessed using the standard National Health Injury Survey. Generalized estimating equations, using Poisson distributions and log of step count as an offset, determined fall and injury incidence rate ratio [IRR] according to walking ability level. Ten people, aged 33-63 years with amputations of different causes and levels, were assessed monthly over five months. The community walking group (n = 6) had six falls and seven injuries; the limited community walking group (n = 4) had four falls and three injuries. For PLL, limited community walking ability was associated with higher incidence of falls (IRR = 6.10, 95%CI = 1.12-33.33, p = 0.037) and injuries (IRR = 8.56, 95%CI = 1.73-42.40, p = 0.009) when accounting for person-steps. Considering per person-step exposure over time added precision to fall and injury risk assessment that clarified the risks: PLL with limited community walking ability have higher fall and injury risks.