Bridging the Gap: Where Rehab Meets Prosthetic Care with Dr. Ryan Wedge
Symmetry gets treated like a gold standard in gait training, but what if “walking better” actually means walking smarter? We sit down with Dr. Ryan Wedge, a physical therapist and biomechanics researcher at East Carolina University, to unpack a surprising reality in lower limb amputation rehab: pushing a person to walk more symmetrically can increase metabolic energy expenditure and make everyday walking harder, even for high-functioning prosthesis users. That single insight changes how we think about goals, progress, and what success should look like in the clinic. We zoom out to the messy, human side of recovery: how clinicians decide on a target gait when everyone moves differently, why patient feedback and pain signals matter, and how mindset, grief, and trust in the prosthesis can speed up or stall progress. We also talk about the real-world constraints that shape outcomes, from access to rehab and prosthetic technology to the complexity of caring for older patients with diabetes, vascular disease, and other comorbidities. Then we look ahead. Ryan breaks down motion capture from marker-based lab systems to markerless tools and phone-based approaches, including why many “clinic-ready” products still struggle outside ideal conditions. He also shares a new research direction using cycling as a lower-load way to build cardiovascular fitness for people with amputation, with measurements ranging from whole-body energetics to muscle metabolism. If you care about prosthetics and orthotics, physical therapy, gait analysis, or practical rehab that respects real bodies, this conversation delivers. Subscribe for more, share this with a clinician or student who needs it, and leave a review with your take: should rehab prioritize symmetry, comfort, or efficiency? Special thanks to Advanced 3D for sponsoring this episode.