An innovative program called ?Freedom through Sport? designed to help new amputees make the transition from clinical rehabilitation to community-based physical activity and sport programs launched December 13 at The Steadward Centre for Personal and Physical Achievement at the University of Alberta.
An ?Active Amputee Clinic? held at the Centre introduced the program with the intent to increase the awareness of fitness, sport and recreation opportunities for active amputee patients. The Clinic linked amputees with adapted physical consultants from the Centre, and with healthcare professionals from the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital.
The program, based on the Walter Reed Army Medical Centre (Washington DC) system of amputee rehabilitation, is a comprehensive integration of fitness, sport and rehabilitation. It has been developed by the Northern Alberta Amputee Program (NAAP), a non-profit organisation under the auspices of the University of Alberta, in collaboration with The Steadward Centre for Personal and Physical Achievement and the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital.
This type of program has been fuelled in large part because of an increase in the number of physically fit men and women in the armed forces, injured while serving in the war in Afghanistan ? and with injuries that often result in amputation. It?s a recovery process that requires incredible will to restore confidence and optimism in adjusting to a completely altered lifestyle.
Freedom through Sport aims to provide a holistic rehabilitation and transition model for all amputees, young and old, affording them greater opportunities for increasing their participation in physical fitness, sport and recreation throughout all stages of their recovery, while also broadening their social networks.
?The goal of the program is to empower persons with amputation, and any kind of physical limitation, to use physical fitness, sport, and recreational activity to reach their full potential and improve their overall quality of life, ? said Dr. Jackie Hebert, clinical director of the Adult Amputee Program at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital.
?Amputees benefit from seeing other amputees who are doing well and succeeding in finding a new way of living. Part of that should include being fit and healthy to deal with the day to day challenges of life,? said Master Corporal Paul Franklin, co-founder of NAAP, and a medic with the Canadian armed forces who lost both legs in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan last year.
Besides the integration of sport and rehabilitation, the program aims to provide a supportive environment for amputee patients that stresses the value of physical activity for long term health and independence, and uses appropriate peers for support, encouragement, motivation and recovery.
?Through The Steadward Centre, the Freedom through Sport program will provide people with amputations the opportunity to become involved in physical activity and sport, be it for recreational or competitive purposes. The participants will experience peer support, fitness appraisals and prescribed programs, knowledge of disability sport opportunities, and a motivating and welcoming exercise environment,? said Dr. Donna Goodwin, executive director of The Steadward Centre, and associate professor in the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation.
The Freedom through Sport program dovetails with several amputee rehabilitation programs including the Soldier On program, initiated by the Canadian Forces and Paralympics Development Canada and is available only at The Steadward Centre at present. ?The intent is share the model with other regions of Canada,? said Goodwin.
Franklin believes the program is an important step forward for amputees. ?It?s all about ability, not disability. It?s not what can?t be done; it?s what can be done. Freedom through Sport will allow amputees the opportunity to go beyond their injury to regain a positive and healthy life,? he said.
Funding for the program is currently limited. The December 13 clinic was supported by volunteer and limited staff release time from both The Steadward Centre and the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital. To further the cause and fully support the implementation of the Freedom through Sport program, funding is needed. Donations to assist this cause can be directed to the Northern Alberta Amputee Program at the University of Alberta. (www.naap.med.ualberta.ca )