Fall Prevention Training for Service Members With an Amputation or Limb Salvage Following Lower Extremity Trauma

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Science
• Biomechanics
• Trauma Surgery

Background:

• Military conflicts lead to significant lower extremity trauma in service members, resulting in amputations or limb preservation (LP) procedures.
• Service members with limb loss or LP report high fall rates and negative consequences, with limited research on fall prevention for this population.
• Existing research on balance and fall reduction is scarce, particularly for young, active individuals like service members with lower extremity trauma.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a task-specific fall prevention training program for service members with lower extremity trauma.
• To measure changes in fall rates, improvements in trunk control, and skill retention at 3 and 6 months post-intervention.
• To address the research gap in fall prevention strategies for active populations with limb loss or limb preservation.

Main Methods:

• Forty-five service members with lower extremity trauma (amputations or LP procedures) participated.
• A 2-week training program utilized a microprocessor-controlled treadmill to simulate trip perturbations, with increasing task difficulty.
• Fall rates, balance confidence, and trunk control (flexion angle and velocity) were assessed pre-training, immediately post-training, and at 3 and 6 months.

Main Results:

• Participants reported a significant reduction in falls and enhanced balance confidence in their daily lives post-training.
• Trunk control significantly improved after the training program, with no pre-training differences observed.
• The gains in trunk control and fall prevention skills were retained at both 3 and 6 months following the training.

Conclusions:

• Task-specific fall prevention training effectively reduced falls in service members with diverse lower extremity trauma, including amputations and LP procedures.
• Improved fall prevention and balance confidence can enhance participation in daily activities, leading to a better quality of life.
• This training offers a viable strategy to mitigate fall risks and improve functional outcomes for injured service members.