The status of application and physiotherapy-rehabilitation of prosthetics in Turkey

[Purpose] The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of prosthetic applications and to appraise the importance of amputee rehabilitation in Turkey. [Subjects and Methods] Questionnaires were administered to owners or employees of 36 institutions and the obtained data were evaluated. [Results] While 75% of institutions had no physiotherapist, 25% had 1 or 2 physiotherapists; there were 4 or fewer technicians in 86.1%, and the majority of employees were out of profession in almost all institutions. A total of 83.3% of institutions reported falls, 75% reported complications, 58.3% of them occasionally noted the need of repair; 55.6% of institutions made preprosthetic assessments, 63.9% used gait analysis, and 50% performed prosthetic rehabilitation frequently. [Conclusion] The results of this study reveal the need for more physiotherapists in these centers, the utilization of standardized-objective assessment methods, and development of rehabilitation processes for successful prosthetic applications and amputee rehabilitation in Turkey.