Rehabilitation of the Blast Injury Casualty with Amputation

Abstract

Blast related trauma may often result in severe extremity injuries leading to significant dysfunction and/or amputation. Medical care for personnel with a traumatic limb loss should consist of a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach that is initiated as early as possible in the treatment plan to ensure the fullest recovery possible. Rehabilitative care can often be broken up into several stages: (1) initial management, (2) preprosthetic, (3) prosthetic/ambulation, and (4) progressive activities/return to daily life. During each phase of care, ongoing psychological support is important for patients and their families. The fitting and training of an upper or lower limb prosthesis is often complex and best achieved through an interdisciplinary team model. Prosthetic component selection should best support the patient's rehabilitative goals. Current prosthetic technologies allow patients to achieve high levels of functional independence and often return to pre-injury activities and interests. Unfortunately, blast-related amputation is often accompained by other co-morbid injuries and an increased risk of long-term complications, such as residual limb problems, chronic pain, osteoarthritis, and cardiovascular disease; therefore, ongoing life-long care is needed to decrease morbidity and mortality and enhance quality of life.