Advanced Rehabilitation Training for Lower Limb Amputee Specialists

Questions? Email us at hello@art-training.co.uk

Module 1: Advanced Assessment Skills

Day 1: Comprehensive Assessment

Master the foundational assessment skills for ambitious amputee rehabilitation

Morning: Core Assessment Framework

• Trauma-informed assessment approaches building therapeutic rapport
• Comprehensive subjective assessment: pain, function, goals, psychological adjustment
• Objective assessment protocol: residual limb examination, joint integrity, muscle strength, proprioception, balance
• Prosthetic gait overview and alignment evaluation
• Clinical reasoning frameworks for evidence-based treatment planning

Afternoon: Occupational Performance Analysis

• Occupational performance assessment across all life domains
• Person-Environment-Occupation (PEO) Model and Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM)
• Activity analysis identifying physical demands, environmental factors, and overuse risks
• Integration of physical and occupational assessment findings
• Vocational considerations

Day 2: Movement Analysis 

Develop expertise in prosthetic gait analysis and movement control:

Morning: Prosthetic Gait Analysis

• Normal and prosthetic gait biomechanics
• Systematic gait assessment identifying deviations and causes
• Differentiating prosthetic alignment vs socket fit vs patient control issues
• Prosthetic prescription considerations and prosthetist communication
• Live patient gait analysis with transfemoral and transtibial volunteers

Afternoon: Lumbopelvic-Hip and Knee Control

• Normal lumbopelvic-hip and knee biomechanics including muscle slings and force closure
• Common movement dysfunctions in amputee gait
• Assessment protocols for hip and knee control
• Progressive exercise programming from activation to functional activities
• Cueing strategies for motor learning

Module 2: Building Resilience and Optimising Participation

Day 1:  Amputee Associated Symptoms

Morning: Master evidence-based approaches to post-amputation pain:

• Current research and neurophysiological mechanisms of phantom limb pain and residual limb pain
• Comprehensive pain history taking and clinical assessment
• Biopsychosocial contributing factors: physical, central sensitisation, psychosocial
• Treatment modalities: myofascial release, electroacupuncture, desensitisation protocols
• Mindfulness and relaxation techniques
• Patient education about pain mechanisms

Afternoon: Preventing secondary complications:

• Biomechanical changes and overuse risk in intact limbs and joints
• Prehabilitation exercise programs for vulnerable structures
• Orthotic prescription options and assistive equipment evaluation
• Activity modification, pacing, and energy conservation
• Transfer techniques minimising upper limb loading

Day 2: Promoting Engagement & Participation

Morning: Adaptive Equipment and Activity Adaptation

• Activity analysis identifying overuse risks in self-care and domestic tasks
• Activity adaptation and modification strategies
• Equipment prescription: mobility aids, wheelchairs, power add-on devices, self-care and domestic aids
• Psychological and social considerations: identity adjustment, fatigue management, mental health

Afternoon: Work, Leisure, and Environmental Optimisation

• Work and productivity: return to work assessment, ergonomics, reasonable adjustments under Equality Act 2010
• Leisure and social participation: addressing barriers, adaptive equipment, community resources
• Driving: DVLA requirements, assessment referrals, vehicle adaptations
• Environmental modifications: home assessments, funding pathways (DFG, charitable funding, NHS services)

Module 3: Clinical Reasoning and Report Writing

Session 1: Clinical Reasoning

• Systematic clinical reasoning frameworks integrating all assessment domains
• Biopsychosocial framework for complex presentations
• Differential diagnosis: prosthetic vs biomechanical vs psychological factors
• Evidence-based treatment prioritisation

Session 2: Vision Setting and Goal Development

• Patient-led vision setting vs therapist-led goal setting
• Motivational interviewing and person-centred techniques
• Translating visions into SMART clinical functional goals
• Addressing barriers to ambitious rehabilitation
• Interprofessional goal alignment

Session 3: Report Writing

• Professional report structure for legal and insurance contexts
• Writing for different audiences: solicitors, insurers, case managers
• Evidence-based justification of clinical opinions
• Goal documentation and actionable recommendations
• Report critique workshop and practical writing exercises