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Therapy for the Soul
- by Rogena Schuyler Silverman
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 This
has become a time of year when most Americans
reflect on recent occurrences in the country's
history that launched a war against terror that
has sent young men and women abroad to defend
the freedoms that we, as a nation, hold dear.
Unfortunately, part of the risk of combat often
includes the sacrifice of life or limb and for
more than 17,000 soldiers wounded since 2001, an
estimated 2.5 percent are returning as amputees.
These amputees will often face months—perhaps
years—of surgical procedures and rehabilitation
to adjust to their altered bodies. None of this
would be possible without new technologies and
innovative approaches to physical and
occupational therapy available at such
exceptional rehabilitation hospitals as Walter
Reed Army Medical Hospital (WRAMH), in
Washington DC, and Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC),
in San Antonio, Tex. Both of these facilities
offer traditional and progressive therapies to
help recovering amputee soldiers build strength
and confidence, as well as pursue more
fulfilling lifestyles and activities.
For example, WRAMH recently offered a one-time
therapeutic horseback-riding program—known as
hippotherapy (from the Greek "hippo" for
horse)—to recuperating amputee veterans.
According to Josef Butkus, an occupational
therapist at the hospital, the benefits of
hippotherapy include improvement in balance and
coordination, as well as helping to strengthen
core muscles and enhance confidence. The riders
find a "whole new center of balance", while
taking pressure off their injured limbs. The
program received such positive feedback that
WRAMH therapists are considering implementing
therapeutic horseback riding on a long-term
basis. |
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