Running with a prosthesis is no longer a novelty but rather has become a part of the rehabilitation process by the current generation of prosthetic users. In the United States, approximately 15% of K3-K4 active LLA have a secondary activity-specific prostheses. Since 1978, 183 journal articles focused on running and LLA athletes have been published, however 73% were published after 2010. Likewise, since 2010 the instructors of this presentation have taught over 100 running clinics globally. Participating athletes include juniors, adults, elite athletes and military populations. The range of the athletes’ goals span from play ball with their kids to competing in the Paralympics or Ironman triathlons. This presentation will be taught by the three coaches of the Challenged Athletes Foundation Running Clinics who will share the program’s structure and instructional methods in three sections. Section one, will describe the Five-steps for running with a prosthesis with an emphasis on assessing the novice runner in real-time and the corrective tips used to improve technique and build confidence. Moreover, agility techniques for running sideways, backward, and changing direction smoothly will be offered. Section two, will focus on the athletes who have running experience and want to improve on their abilities for distance running by learning a series of drills designed to minimize effort and improve performance. The third section will discuss training tips, nutritional information, and other insights that the athletes can incorporate into their training routines. Finally, the obstacle course designed to demonstrate the athletes’ skills will be shown.
Statement of the objective / learning objectives
Participants will be able to:
1. Host a running clinic teaching lower-limb amputees to run with a prosthesis.
2. Instruct accomplished athletes to more effectively train and use of their prosthesis for sports.
