A team of researchers evaluated associations between time since amputation (TSAmp) and mobility outcomes of adults with lower-limb amputations. After controlling for age, sex, amputation level, and etiology, the researchers concluded that TSAmp data was significantly associated with each mobility outcome.
The researchers conducted a secondary analysis of a cross-sectional dataset, including 109 community-dwelling adults one year or more after unilateral transfemoral amputations (n = 39; mean age, 54 ± 15 years) or transtibial amputations (n = 70; mean age = 58 ± 14 years). The participants attended standardized clinical evaluations and completed the Prosthesis Evaluation Questionnaire–Mobility Subscale (PEQ-MS), Timed Up and Go (TUG), ten-meter walk test (10MWT), and six-minute walk test (6MWT).
Based on the findings, longer TSAmp may be associated with better a PEQ-MS score and TUG time, but better or worse 10MWT speed and 6MWT distance depending upon time elapsed since the amputation, according to the study. Therefore, estimations of post-amputation mobility among adults with lower-limb amputation should consider results of the TSAmp.
The material within the study was presented virtually at the 2020 National Assembly of the American Orthotists and Prosthetists Association. The study, “Time Since Lower-Limb Amputation: An Important Consideration in Mobility Outcomes,” was published in the American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation.
