Collaborative Establishment of an Integrated Orthotic and Rehabilitation Pathway

Returning to active military duty and to recreational activities has been difficult for service members sustaining combat-related high-energy lower extremity trauma (HELET). The Return to Run (RTR) clinical pathway was introduced in 2009 with favorable results in returning active duty service members to running, sports participation, active duty, and deployments. The RTR pathway was introduced at a second institution in 2011 to determine if the pathway could be reproduced at a different institution. In this study, a series of patients is presented who underwent limb salvage procedures after sustaining HELET at an outside military treatment facility and subsequently participated in the authors' RTR protocol. They received a novel orthotic device from the San Antonio Military Medical Center and returned to their home institution for rehabilitation. In this cohort, an improvement in functional capability was obtained in nearly all patients. In conclusion, successful translation of the integrated orthotic and rehabilitation initiative to outside institutions is possible.