Virtual reality enhanced rehabilitation for a service member with bilateral lower extremity amputations: A case study

To review the outcomes of rehabilitation for a service member with bilateral lower extremity amputations. A 25 year-old marine suffered a right knee disarticulation and a left transtibial amputation during military service. For two years, the patient underwent a comprehensive rehabilitation program at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. During the course of his rehabilitation, this patient took part in conventional physical therapy and at 16.5 months post-injury added clinical sessions in the Computer Assisted Rehabilitation Environment (CAREN) Laboratory to his therapy regimen for approximately six months. Gait analyses were conducted at three different points in his rehabilitation program: 5.5, 18, and 23.5 months post-injury. Temporal spatial parameters of self-selected velocities, cadence, and step length increased while his stance support time and step width decreased, becoming closer to asymptomatic populations. During the CAREN clinical sessions, the patient showed an increase in overall speed in the Road with Overhead Targets application. With the Boat application, the patient was able to improve the application time at increased levels of difficulty. The use of virtual reality as an adjunct to conventional rehabilitation for individuals with amputations provides a novel approach for maximizing function.