Physical Therapists Provide Care to Boston Marathon Amputees
Press Release from Hands-On News:
Physical Therapists Provide Care to Boston Marathon Amputees
From Hands-On News: More than 13 people who lost their limbs during the Boston bombings will undergo physical therapy as part of their recovery process, reported by CNN.
Astoria, NY (PRWEB) May 02, 2013 — The Boston bombing attack resulted to at least 13 limb amputations as reported by CNN. “This is a sudden and life altering event in someone’s life,” said Dr. Kevin Plancher, founder of Plancher Orthopedicsbased in New York City.
Many amputees suffer from depression, a sense of loss and deal with tremendous physical and emotional difficulties to adapt to a totally new lifestyle. Prosthetic limbs have been the answer for several decades. “Many years ago prosthetics were made out of wooden models with heavy, inflexible metal hinges that offered very little help to affected individuals,” Physical Therapist Dr. Konstantine Rizopoulos of Hands-On Care Physical Therapy said to Hands-On News.
Plancher added that “New technologies have significantly improved what prosthetic limbs allow older and younger individuals to do in their daily lives. Many of them after they undergo a rigorous physical therapy and rehabilitation program, are able to live normal, active lives.”
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have pioneered research in robotic technology that provides mobility to amputee limbs that approximates that of non-amputee individuals. The same university hospital, in collaboration with the Amputee Coalition of America, have collaborated with a purpose to improve the understanding of limb loss and design programs aimed to improve function and quality of life after limb loss.
Hands-On News discussed with Dr. Simone DeSouza, DPT, MCMT, Clinical Director of the Astoria office of Hands-On Care Physical Therapy the role of the Physical Therapist in the recovery of amputees. “Physical Therapists have three roles when helping individuals with amputated limbs. First, we have to prepare the amputee for prosthetic gait training before even fitted with the prosthesis. Second, we have to teach the amputee how to use the prosthesis and third, we have to train the amputee to higher levels of physical activity beyond just the normal walking,” said Dr. DeSouza.
The National Limb Loss information center reports that there are 1.7 million amputees living in the US today.
Physical Therapists help them lead happy, functional lives every day.