Researcher Highlight

Dr. Meg Sions, PhD, DPT, PT of the University of Delaware is an ACCEL Pilot Project Grant Awardee studying sensory impairment manifestations among adults with chronic limb pain following an amputation. Dr. Sions is conducting a cross-sectional study of 50 adults with a unilateral, below-the-knee amputation (25 with long-standing pain in the amputated limb and 25 without), who are compared to 25 controls. The purpose of the study is to (a) explore differences in sensory thresholds, including vibration and light touch detection, among adults with and without chronic limb pain following amputation, as compared to controls and (b) how these differences relate to prosthetic use and physical function. Knowledge gained from this study may result in shifting of post-amputation rehabilitation to include novel interventions to address sensory impairments and pain, and also inform future prosthetic design, particularly if such impairments can be linked with clinically important outcomes, such as prosthesis fit and function.

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