Tap Dance for Adults With Lower Limb Amputation

Feasibility and Acceptability of Tap Dance as a Therapeutic Intervention for Adults With Lower Limb Amputation

The goal of this study is to determine whether it is possible for people with lower limb amputation (LLA) to perform adapted tap dance, whether an adapted tap dance program would be enjoyable, and whether it may improve balance and balance confidence.

There is a lack of research investigating therapeutic interventions for people with lower limb amputation (LLA). Tap dance encourages balance and novel movements of the limbs, while providing auditory feedback from the feet that provide information about the foot's contact with the ground, which may help prosthesis users gain a better ability to understand where their prosthetic foot is in space. As with most forms of dance, tap is usually taught and practiced in a group setting, which encourages community involvement. It has been shown to be safer than many forms of dance due to low impact forces. It also, as a genre, can incorporate canes, chairs and partner work, providing the ability to modify steps/moves when required so that they remain practical, achievable and safe for people with mobility limitations, while still enabling participation. It therefore may be an accessible dance medium to help improve balance, balance confidence, and build community for people with LLA.

Participants will be asked to:

• come to 1 hour dance classes, once per week, for 8 weeks.
• do mobility tests before and after the program
• complete questionnaires before, during and after the program. The total time for participation is approximately 8-10 weeks.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Amputation; Traumatic, Leg, Lower
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Tap dance program

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 6
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Jenny A Kent, PhD; Phone Number: 7028955949; Email: Jenny.kent@unlv.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Nevada
    • Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, 89154
      • Recruiting
      • University of Nevada Las Vegas
      • Contact: Jenny Kent, PhD; Phone Number: 702-895-5949; Email: jenny.kent@unlv.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• unilateral or bilateral lower limb amputation at ankle level or above
• fitted with a walking prosthesis, used regularly for walking in the home and the community
• good socket fit
• able to stand or walk for 2 minutes at a time with or without an assistive device
• willing to travel to the University of Nevada Las Vegas for tap classes once a week for 8 weeks, and for two testing sessions
• able to complete all required outcome measures
• able to understand written and spoken English

Exclusion Criteria:

• leg/foot ulcer/sore or other conditions that cause pain during weight-bearing
• cardiovascular, respiratory or other critical health conditions that preclude moderate physical activity

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Tap dance program; Participants undertake tap dance program.	Other: Tap dance program; Participants will take part in a weekly adapted tap dance class, for one hour per week, for eight weeks.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Session Adherence	Number of planned dance tap sessions attended	through study completion, over 8 weeks
Physical Activities Enjoyment Scale (PACES)	Total score on 18-item self response scale measuring enjoyment of an activity, out of a maximum 126.	Intervention week 8

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Timed Up-and-Go test score	Timed walking test in which the participant rises from a chair, walks to a marker 10 feet away, turns, and returns to sit in the chair. Time to complete, in seconds, is recorded.	8 weeks
Change in Four Square Step Test score	Time taken in seconds to complete a stepping sequence between two canes placed in a cross shape.	8 weeks
Change in Berg Balance Scale score	Score out of 23, for performance of 14 mobility-related tasks.	8 weeks
Change in Activities-Specific Balance Confidence Scale score	16 item self response scale measuring balance confidence. Scored out of 100%	8 weeks
Physical Activities Enjoyment Scale (PACES) score - Mid program	Total score on 18-item self response scale measuring enjoyment of an activity, out of a maximum 126.	Intervention week 4
Change in Trinity Amputation and Prosthesis Experience Scale (TAPES) functional activity restriction subscale score	Total score on functional activity restriction subscale of the TAPES - self reported outcome measure, out of maximum 12	8 weeks
Change in Trinity Amputation and Prosthesis Experience Scale (TAPES) social activity restriction subscale score	Total score on social activity restriction subscale of the TAPES - self reported outcome measure, out of maximum 12	8 weeks
Change in Trinity Amputation and Prosthesis Experience Scale (TAPES) athletic activity restriction score	Total score on athletic activity restriction subscale of the TAPES - self reported outcome measure, out of maximum 12	8 weeks
Use of assistive devices per session	Percentage of sessions for which assistive devices are used	through study completion, over 8 weeks
Session completion per session	Percentage of planned dance tap sessions completed	through study completion, over 8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 4, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2025
• Study Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 26, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 20, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): March 27, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 27, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 20, 2024
• Last Verified: March 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Wounds and Injuries; Amputation, Traumatic
• Other Study ID Numbers: UNLV-2023-62

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No