In a study published in the recent issue of the Journal of Rehabilitation Research & Development (JRRD), researchers found that the Amputee Mobility Predictor (AMP), designed to assess mobility and functional abilities for people with unilateral lower-limb amputation, can also be used, with minor modification to scoring, as an accurate mobility assessment for people with bilateral lower-limb amputation.
The researchers developed a modified version of the AMP, named the AMP-Bilateral (AMP-B), in which the scoring was retrospectively modified on five AMP items that require “at least one intact knee joint to generate the necessary torque requirements to perform the activity without upper-limb assistance,” according to the study.
Twenty-six men between the ages of 22 and 40, all active duty or retired service members, participated. Twelve had bilateral transtibial amputation, seven had bilateral transfemoral amputation, and seven had a combination transtibial and transfemoral amputation. After collecting scores from the AMP-B and the six-minute walk test (6MWT) and evaluating the degree of correlation between the scores, the research team established that the minor modifications to the AMP did not alter the participants’ total scores and that no modifications are necessary for people with bilateral transtibial amputation.
When comparing the scores of participants who have a bilateral transtibial amputation to those with a combination transtibial and transfemoral amputation, and participants with bilateral transtibial amputation to those with bilateral transfemoral amputation, “significant differences existed between the AMP-B scores, AMP scores, and 6MWT distance,” wrote the researchers. However, the differences between the scores for the subjects with bilateral transfemoral amputation and combination transtibial and transfemoral amputation were insignificant.
The researchers noted that because the study targeted higher functioning individuals with traumatic bilateral amputation, future work should include people with bilateral amputation who had lower-level AMP scores.
To read the research article, “Amputee Mobility Predictor-Bilateral: A performance-based measure of mobility for people with bilateral lower-limb loss,” visit the JRRD website.
