Lower Extremity Limb Loss Rehabilitation: Gait Training Progression and Treatment with the Transfemoral Amputee

Laura Durgin, PT, is a Clinical Specialist Physical Therapist who currently works at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital of Cape Cod on the acute inpatient unit. She has been part of the Spaulding Rehabilitation network for over 25 years starting her career at Spaulding Hospital in Boston. There she was the PT Practice Leader on the complex medical/ventilator and amputee program. Laura provided care to patients with limb loss, as well as running the prosthetic clinic for inpatient and outpatient populations. Her interest in treating patients with limb loss led to a position of guest lecturer at Simmons college, teaching Physical Therapy students about caring for these patients after amputations. In addition, she was part of a Rehabilitation team that traveled to Haiti as part of the “Healing Hands for Haiti” project in 2003. She has taken several courses on the topic of Amputee care and prosthetics over the years including attending Northwestern Universities Lower-Limb Prosthetics for Therapists weeklong course in Chicago, IL. Yearly she assists as a lab instructor in the physical therapy program at the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions and Quincy College PTA program for their Amputee Modules. She is an active member of the SRN Amputee Special Interest Group. At Spaulding Cape Cod, she has assisted in development of the Amputee Program and along with co-workers Jennifer Benoit, OT and Colleen Fabas, LSW is a co-founder of the Spaulding Cape Cod Limb Loss Support Group.

Michelle Kerr, PT received her Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy from Northeastern University in 1987. She has worked at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital for the past 38 years and has treated patients with limb loss for her entire career. She was Inpatient Clinical Supervisor on the Amputee, SCI and ventilator dependent unit and Amputee Clinic Coordinator for 6 years. For the past 20 years she has worked in a split position in SRH Outpatient Department with the SCI and Amputee patient populations and as a Clinical Specialist in Wheelchair Seating Clinic. She is also a Lab Instructor at the IHP

Marissa Rewak, PT, DPT, MS is a Clinical Specialist at Spaulding Cape Cod and holds a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from MGH Institute of Health Professions. Marissa provides physical therapy services in an acute inpatient rehabilitation environment to patients with a variety of neurological, orthopedic and cardiopulmonary diagnoses. Before completing her physical therapy education, Marissa earned her MS in Public Health and worked in public health research with a focus on the impacts of social and psychological factors on human health. Marissa’s combined physical therapy and public health backgrounds provide the foundation for a physical therapy career that focuses on integrating research into current practice. Passionate about helping patients with neurological disorders and those who have experienced limb loss, Marissa has completed training focused on vestibular diagnosis/rehabilitation, use of neuroprostheses during mobility, residual limb management /prosthetic gait training techniques for populations with limb loss and gait training techniques for individuals with acquired brain injury.

John Warren, CP, is an ABC Certified Prosthetist who brings 26 years of clinical expertise and a deeply personal perspective to the field of prosthetic rehabilitation. His entry into the profession was forged through a life-altering accident: as a 20-year-old SCUBA instructor, a high-pressure tank explosion resulted in a right transfemoral amputation and years of intensive recovery. This experience didn’t just change his path; it ignited a lifelong passion for prosthetic innovation and patient outcomes.

Throughout his career, John has navigated nearly every facet of the industry—from intricate technical fabrication to providing clinical education for leading manufacturers. He notably served at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he was honored to support the rehabilitation of wounded service members. Today, John remains dedicated to bridging the gap between advanced prosthetic technology and the lived experience of the end-user.