The effect of a physical rehabilitation program on temperature symmetry, mobility, functionality and gait in amputee patients

Introduction

Rehabilitation centers offer specialized programs for amputees aimed at enhancing their functional abilities and quality of life. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a hospital-based rehabilitation program on lower-limb skin temperature distribution, mobility, functionality and gait in individuals with lower-limb amputations.

Material and methods

This is a pilot, longitudinal, observational study, with pre–post-intervention assessments of 14 patients admitted for inpatient intensive rehabilitation program. The skin temperature of the thigh, knee, and leg was evaluated with an infrared thermography camera (FLIR T650SC®), and mobility, functionality and gait were tested with the Timed Up and Go, Amputee Mobility test Predictor (AMP), and the 2-minute walk test, before and after the multidisciplinary physical rehabilitation program. The baseline and post-intervention data were compared with the Student's T-test or Wilcoxon test for paired data according to data distribution. The α level was established at 5%.

Results

The comparison of baseline and post-intervention temperature outcomes showed no significant changes regardless of the side. There was a significant improvement in balance (AMP scores from 32 ± 7.10 to 35.07 ± 6.76; p < 0.0001), gait (2-MWT distance 73.14 ± 52.87 m to 96.57 ± 60.91 m; p = 0.004), and function (TUG total time from 27.14 ± 22.68 s to 16.82 ± 10.09 s; p < 0.001).

Conclusion

This study demonstrated that individuals with lower limb amputees experienced improvements in terms of mobility, functionality and gait after the physical rehabilitation program, however, they did not have significant changes in relation to the distribution of skin temperature between the lower limbs.