Lower Limb Amputee & Prosthetic Measures: A Perspective from the United States

[Introduction] Every clinician enters the field to practice and refine their craft to support patients. With experience, clinicians learn that success takes time; the patient must grow to trust the clinician and the interventions provided. Interventional successes are frequently slow to work, and the patient may not realize their new functional status. Therefore, we must measure patient progress over time to demonstrate to the patient, and to the clinician, that the interventions we provide are creating patient success. The consistent use of outcome measures optimizes patient success, for every patient is a new challenge and opportunity for success in the clinical practice. This manuscript is based upon a keynote presentation given at the 38th Japanese Society of Prosthetics and Orthotics annual meeting in Niigata on October 8, 2022. Professor Sakai made the invitation to create discussion around the use of evidence-informed practice, specifically outcome measures, with a perspective from the United States' physical therapists and prosthetists towards inspiring a national registry of individuals with limb loss and prosthetic needs in Japan.