Rapid Rehabilitation to Treat Lower Extremity Trauma

Improved Training Method for Advanced Rehabilitation of Warfighters With Lower Extremity Trauma

The purpose of this study is to find out if an advance balance perturbation training program can enhance the rehabilitation process by increasing weight-bearing strategies on the prosthetic or injured limb, and, help reduce stumbles and falls.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Research participants will be eligible active duty service members and retired veterans.
• Having lower limb trauma (transtibial and transfemoral amputations, bilateral amputations, and limb salvage).
• Are enrolled in conventional rehabilitation at the participating military treatment centers.
• Subjects with dysvascular disease will be excluded because compromised lower limb somatosensation and circulation are independently linked with poor postural stability and a history of frequent falls.
• For subjects with amputations, the individual must be a community ambulator (i.e., K-Level 3 or 4).
• For subjects with limb salvage, they will need to have an IDEO and be entered into the Return-to-Run training program.

Exclusion Criteria:

- Subjects must not have excessive pain or other neuromuscular problems that preclude them from performing the test protocol.