Home Exercise Plan For A Transtibial Amputation

Following an exercise regimen after a transtibial amputation is essential, even after you are discharged from treatment, according to East Kent Hospitals University. Home exercises can help stretch and strengthen your muscles to help promote mobility. Your exercises should be painless and performed without wearing a prosthesis. Consult your doctor or therapist for specific exercise recommendations before attempting an at-home exercise plan after your below-knee amputation.

Thigh Stretching

Home exercises that stretch the adductor and hamstring muscles in your thighs can help provide greater flexibility to below-knee amputees. To stretch your hamstring muscles, lie on your back and raise your non-amputated leg toward your chest. Place your arm around your thigh, pull your leg closer and hold for 20 seconds. Then, bring your non-amputated knee toward your chest and straighten your leg until you feel a stretch in the back of your thigh. Stretch your adductor muscles by sitting with your back against a wall and your amputated limb outward. Slightly bend your other leg inward. Place your hands on your thighs and push on your amputated leg's thigh to feel an inner-thigh stretch. Ensure both buttocks stay on the floor.

Thigh Strengthening

Several home exercises can strengthen thigh muscles after a transtibial amputation. For instance, the University of Oklahoma Department of Physical Therapy recommends lying on your stomach for 30 minutes twice a day and lifting your legs backward to strengthen your thigh muscles. To strengthen quadriceps muscles, sit on your bed and extend your legs in front of you. Push the back of your knees into the bed --- tightening your thigh muscles. Hold for five seconds and repeat. Also, try sitting at the edge of a chair or your bed with your hands on your lap. Straighten one knee and hold for 5 seconds. Then bend your knee and repeat.

Hip Strengthening

A home exercise plan can strengthen your hip muscles following a below-knee amputation. Some hip exercises involve the use of a "bridge" or support -- making you lift and control your body weight to strengthen your hip muscles. One such exercise requires lying on your back and raising and lowering one leg, while the other leg rests on a padded phone book or other prop. You can raise and lower your non-amputated limb as well as your amputated limb. Also, lie on your side with arms crossed and your amputated limb "bridged" by using the muscles on the side of your hip and exercise by raising and lowering your non-amputated limb. Ensure that you use the correct hip muscles by not rolling and keeping your leg aligned with your upper body.

Core Strengthening

Core strengthening exercises performed at home can provide transtibial amputees with the vital stability needed for mobility as well as reduce stress on the spine, which can result in low-back pain and decreased motor control. Perform a pelvic tilt by lying on your back with the knee of your non-amputated leg bent and your foot flat on the floor. With your hands placed at the small of your back, push your lower back into your hands. Hold this position for a count of five, relax and repeat. Complete a partial situp by lying on your back and bending your hips so that the foot of your non-amputated leg is resting on the floor. With hands on your thighs and your eyes looking toward the ceiling, slowly curl up until your head and shoulders rise from the floor. You can also strengthen your back muscles by lying on your stomach 30 minutes, twice a day, and raising your arms and lifting your head.