Development of an exercise testing protocol for patients with a lower limb amputation: results of a pilot study.
Vestering, M., Schoppen, R., Dekker, R., Wempe, J., & Geertzen, J. (2005). Development of an exercise testing protocol for patients with a lower limb amputation: Results of a pilot study. International Journal of Rehabilitation Research, 28, 237-244.
This pilot study was designed to begin the development of a safe, graded exercise test protocol for persons with lower-limb amputation. Based on the results of a literature search, the combined arm-leg ergometer and the arm ergometer were compared.
The study consisted of five participants who were initially tested on the Cruiser combined arm-leg ergometer and then the Angio arm ergometer, with at least a 1-week interval between the two sessions. The testing protocol began with a 5-minute still period in order to obtain baseline measurements, and then a 3-minute warm up at 20W was followed by 5W increases every minutes, until one of three termination criteria was met.
Combined arm-leg ergometry received higher scores than arm ergometry in the areas of determining VO2max, HRmax, ECG, and patient preference. Arm ergometry received a higher score than the combined arm-leg ergometry in the areas of ergometer access and stump support.
Based on the study, both arm ergometry and combined arm-leg ergometry are considered to be feasible for exercise testing involving amputees. Future studies should go beyond this exploratory study to focus on developing measures of reliability and validity.
This article summary can be found at http://www.ncpad.org/423/2251/Development~of~an~Exercise~Testing~Protocol~for~Patients~
with~a~Lower~Limb~Amputation~~Results~of~a~Pilot~Study.
National Center on Accessibility National Trails Surface Study
The construction and maintenance of accessible trail surfaces continues to be one of the greatest challenges for public land managers, specifically “which trail surface applications prove to be accessible in various geographic and climatic regions of the United States?”
Over the next 5 years, the National Center on Accessibility (NCA) will initiate the National Trails Surface Study.This longitudinal study seeks to determine the effectiveness of various types of environmentally friendly trail surface applications.Currently NCA is seeking public land management agencies with trails to participate in the study.
For more information on this participation in this research study, contact NCA at ncatrail@indiana.edu, and visit the NCA website at www.ncaonline.org.