The use of adaptive rowing in complex rehabilitation of wounded patients with lower limb amputations

Abstract

Mine-blast injuries represent a leading cause of modern combat-related trauma, often re-sulting in unilateral or bilateral lower-limb amputation. One of the most promising contem-porary approaches in rehabilitation of the wounded with lower limb amputations is adaptive sports, in particular, adaptive rowing. The study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of adaptive rowing in the complex rehabilitation of individuals with lower-limb amputations. Material & Methods. The study involved 30 wounded servicemen with lower limb amputations un-dergoing rehabilitation, randomly allocated into a main group (n=15) and a control group (n=15). All participants received standard rehabilitation according to established clinical pro-tocols. The wounded in the main group performed rowing technique exercises in the main part of the session, both on the water and on a rowing machine, allowing upper-body engagement while accommodating reduced or absent lower-limb function. The rehabilitation course for both groups was 30 days. Results. Patients in the main group showed a significantly greater improvement (p<0.05) in the in-dicators for the scales "Physical functioning" and "Social functioning". These improvements in the "Physical Functioning" domain may be explained by using more load-bearing exercises on the rowing machine. In that case, the improvement in the "Social functioning" assessment directly indicates the positive social aspect of using adaptive rowing. The most demonstrative changes were in the depression level in the main group, which led to a change in the depres-sion level assessment from clinically pronounced to subclinical.Conclusions. The use of adaptive rowing in the comprehensive rehabilitation of the wounded with lower limb amputations is an effective method for improving the quality of life and optimizing the psycho-emotional status.