Samantha, a recognized talent at Eqwal

Who is Samantha?

Samantha Stauffer is a certified prosthetist-orthotist working at our Independence agency in the United States. As the Director of Research, she plays a key role in managing collaborations with university research laboratories and with the private sector. She is a PhD candidate at the University of Delaware, where she works in the Delaware Limb Loss Studies Laboratory. Her research focuses on the impact of health conditions on the quality of life of people who have undergone amputation.

Samantha has shared her work nationally and has more than a dozen peer-reviewed scientific presentations, demonstrating her commitment to innovation and excellence in her field.

Her research

Together with her team, Samantha sought to examine the impact of multisite pain (pain in 2 or more distinct regions of the body) on functional mobility after lower limb amputation. This study was conducted on a sample of 112 people who had undergone lower-limb amputation more than 6 months ago.

Nearly 60% of the participants had multisite pain, and those with multisite pain walked more slowly at self-selected and fast walking speeds, and had worse walking endurance than peers without multisite pain.  These associations held after controlling for the effect of age, sex, and extent of amputation. 

Promising conclusions

Thanks to this study, Samantha was able to demonstrate that reduced walking speed and endurance in adults with lower limb amputation are associated with the presence of multisite pain. Therefore,  targeted pain management interventions for these individuals may  lead to significant improvements in mobility.

Clinically, it is essential to assess for multisite pain, as it affects a large number of individuals with lower-limb amputation. Assessment may be done using objective tools, like a pain body diagram, or through standardized pain interviews. Multisite pain presence should be considered when interpreting performance on performance-based outcome measures following lower-limb amputations.

Samantha awarded one of the most prestigious distinctions

On February 27, 2025, during the Annual Meeting and Scientific Symposium of the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists in Atlanta, Samantha presented her research and the results of her study. Thanks to her work, she was selected as one of the two winners of the prestigious Thranhardt Lecture Series Award.

Created in 1995 through a donation from J.E. Hanger in honor of Howard R. Thranhardt, CP, the Thranhardt Lecture Series Award is one of the most prestigious distinctions in the field of orthotics and prosthetics. This award celebrates outstanding contributions to research and clinical education in these specialties. At the Academy's Annual Meeting, two abstracts are chosen by the clinical content committee to be presented as part of the Thranhardt Lecture Series.