* Nearly 2 million individuals are living with limb loss in the United States (Ziegler-Graham et al., 2008)
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* Expected to rise to 3.6 million individuals living with limb loss by 2050 (Odum, n.d.)
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* Almost 1 million individuals living with limb loss in the United States now are under the age of 65 years & over 300,000 are below the age of 45 years (Ziegler-Graham et al., 2008)
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* Approximately 185,000 amputations occur in the United States each year (Owings & Kozak, 1998)
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* 507 individuals lose a limb each day in the United States (Amputee Coalition, 2019)
Upper Extremity
Limb Loss
* In 2005, ~541,000 people in the US were living with an upper-limb amputation, expected to increase through 2050 (Ziegler-Graham et al., 2008)
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* Approximately 4 of every 10,000 babies born each year have an upper limb deficiency (Shriners Hospital for Children, n.d.)
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* Most commonly from trauma – other causes include malignancy, congenital deficiencies, and vascular disease (Gulick, 2016)
Lower Extremity
Limb Loss
* Approximately 2 of every 10,000 babies born each year have a lower limb deficiency (Shriners Hospital for Children, n.d.)
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* Most commonly from infection and vascular diseases – other causes include congenital, tumor, and trauma (Odum, n.d.)
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Overall Prevalence
REFERENCES
Amputee Coalition. (2019). Impact of Limb Loss. https://www.amputee-coalition.org/impact-of-limb-loss/
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Gulick, K. L. (2016). Fact sheet: The occupational therapy role in rehabilitation for the person with an upper-limb amputation. American Occupational Therapy Association. https://www.aota.org/About-Occupational-Therapy/Professionals/RDP/upper-limb-amputation.aspx
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Odum, T. (n.d.). Rehabilitation of the amputee. [Allied Health On-Demand Webinar]. Allied Health Education. https://alliedhealthed.com/product/rehabilitation-of-the-amputee-3/?term_id=27
Owings, M. F., & Kozak, L. J. (1998). Ambulatory and inpatient procedures in the United States, 1996. Vital and health statistics. Series 13, Data from the National Health Survey, (139), 1–119.
Shriners Hospital for Children. (n.d.). Congenital Limb Deficiencies and Amputations. https://www.shrinershospitalsforchildren.org/shc/limb-deficiency-amputation
Ziegler-Graham, K., MacKenzie, E. J., Ephraim, P. L., Travison, T. G., & Brookmeyer, R. (2008). Estimating the prevalence of limb loss in the United States: 2005 to 2050. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 89(3), 422–429. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2007.11.005