How long does prosthesis rehabilitation after amputation take?

Rehabilitation after an arm or leg amputation is intensive. How exactly the rehabilitation proceeds varies from person to person. For instance, it depends on the type of amputation, your overall health and on the prosthesis made for you. At Amputee Care Center, we would like to tell you more about what to expect after amputation and what factors affect prosthesis rehabilitation.

Rehabilitation after arm amputation

Rehabilitation after arm amputation is often complex. You use your arm throughout the day for all kinds of ‘simple’ activities such as eating, writing and dressing. An arm prosthesis must therefore be precisely tailored to your needs in order to be able to perform your daily activities again. At the Amputee Care Center, we make a unique prosthesis and always provide tailor-made care. After all, every arm amputation and every person is different, and so is prosthetic rehabilitation. A correct arm prosthesis and customised amputation care help to significantly improve quality of life. 

Rehabilitation after leg amputation

Leg prostheses mainly focus on mobility. Rehabilitation after leg amputation initially focuses on standing and walking. After that, your personal goals come into play, of course. At Amputee Care Center, we specialise in a wide range of prostheses, from simple models to sports prostheses, which allow you to play full sports again, such as a blade prosthesis, a bicycle prosthesis or a golf prosthesis. 

The complexity of a leg prosthesis depends mainly on whether the amputation level is a transtibial amputation (below the knee) or transfemoral amputation (above the knee). The Amputee Care Center specialises in lower leg and upper leg prostheses. We often make a leg prosthesis in 1 day!

Rehabilitation after amputation for children

For children, growth factors also still play an important role. Rehabilitation after amputation for children requires a specialised approach. A child's prosthesis must be regularly adapted to the body that is still growing. The Amputee Care Center has a unique approach. The prosthesis or parts of it (such as the socket) can be digitally designed and 3D printed. This way, your child will always get a new socket and a perfectly fitting prosthesis! The cost? Those are usually included at the Amputee Care Center.

Health and age at prosthesis rehabilitation

We start prosthesis rehabilitation the moment the stump, after amputation, is completely healed. Children and adolescents, as well as patients with good overall health, usually recover faster. If you have underlying health problems, such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease, you may need longer to fully recover before you can start prosthetic rehabilitation.

Innovative prostheses

A basic prosthesis can be relatively easy to learn to work with. A more innovative prosthesis, such as a bionic prosthesis, a myo-electric arm prosthesis or an upper leg prosthesis with electronic knee often has a longer learning period. You need to master the technical aspects of the prosthesis and more monitoring and fine-tuning is often required. At the same time, of course, a high-tech prosthesis does offer many more possibilities once you get used to it. These prostheses ensure that your amputation is not a limitation, but rather your prosthesis becomes a kind of superpower!

Recovery after amputation

In general, we can divide recovery after amputation into a number of stages. At the Amputee Care Center, we would like to welcome you before amputation so that we can explain to you exactly what the specific care for you will entail and what solutions we can offer to assist you with rehabilitation quickly and pleasantly.

1. Postoperative phase (0-2 weeks): Immediately after the surgical amputation, the focus is on wound healing and preparing the stump. You usually stay in hospital during this phase and receive pain management and wound care. For both adults and children, the focus in the first two weeks is mainly on coping with the pain and understanding that your body has changed.
2. Pre-prosthetic phase (2-7 weeks): This phase is mainly about letting your stump heal and preparing you to wear a prosthesis. You will receive physiotherapy to strengthen your muscles. The prosthetist from the Amputee Care Center will visit you to provide assistance with care to prepare your stump optimally in advance for wearing a prosthesis.
3. Prosthesis training (7-24 weeks): At this stage, you receive a prosthesis and begin rehabilitation with your prosthesis. With leg prostheses, you can think about standing and walking carefully, while with arm prostheses we work on everyday actions such as lifting something. Together, we will work on how to use the prosthesis optimally in your daily life. For children, training is adapted to your child's developmental level.
4. Adapting to everyday life (6-12 months): The prosthesis becomes more and more part of your daily life and is also adapted according to your needs. You have a lot of contact with your prosthesis coach from the Amputee Care Center during this phase. We offer total care, which also means we can coordinate your care with various care providers. We at the Amputee Care Center provide you with continuous support, including remote support.
5. Annual check-up and maintenance (> 1 year): It is important to return to our prosthesis centre at least once a year for check-ups and any adjustments. In children, we pay extra attention to their growth. This is because the prosthesis often needs to be readjusted. In addition, children will often receive a new 3D printed prosthetic socket. Leg prosthesis wearers receive an annual gait analysis in our gait lab. Annual check-ups and maintenance are free of charge for patients at the Amputee Care Center. Even if your prosthesis was made elsewhere.

Amputation recovery begins at Amputee Care Centre

Amputation recovery is often a long process, and a precise timeline is difficult to predict because of the many factors it depends on. At Amputee Care Center, we offer specialised total care tailored to your needs, and can usually accurately estimate amputation recovery and its duration even before your amputation.

Our goal is to ensure that the amputation is not a limitation, but rather the prosthesis improves your quality of life. We offer the best possible tailor-made care for everyone. A personal attendant will assist you during your rehabilitation. We believe that personal total care and custom prostheses can make a world of difference and are proud to say we are a forerunner in this field in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Want a second opinion on your first prosthesis?  

If you undergo an amputation, for your first prosthesis you will in many cases be helped by the responsible prosthetist at the hospital. It is common to use his or her services in this acute phase, because this situation is new and because you have no experience with prostheses. After all, you have a lot on your mind and usually don't feel like taking matters into your own hands.

Nevertheless, gathering information is important. A well-informed patient is the first step towards successful healing. Know that you are entitled to a free second opinion. To do so, you can visit the Amputee Care Center for a low-threshold consultation on adapted care before, during and after your amputation. A consultation is non-binding and completely free of charge.