Article

This study was designed to investigate the effect of changing the location of the
center of mass (COM) of transfemoral prostheses on the spatiotemporal and
kinematical characteristics of the amputee gait, while maintaining the prosthetic
mass fixed. Ten men with unilateral traumatic transfemoral amputation
participated in gait analysis, 2-min walk and subject preference tests. Weights
were added to the original prosthetic legs in three conditions: 600g added to the
ankle, 600g added at 10cm distal to the prosthetic knee, and 300g added to the
ankle, and 300g at 10cm distal to the knee. For each prosthetic mass condition,
the stride and step lengths, stepping speed, stance, swing and gait cycle
durations, self-selected walking speed, cadence, and knee flexion angle, were
measured. We found no significant change in the spatiotemporal variables and the
knee kinematics with alteration of the prosthetic COM, for both the prosthetic
and the intact limbs. With the mass added to the ankle, the stepping speed, and
the step and stride lengths of the prosthetic limb were significantly larger than
those of the intact limb. Subject's preference revealed that 8 of 10 preferred
their original no-added mass prostheses or mass added prostheses with minimal
change of the COM. It was concluded that a short-term intervention with changed
prosthetic mass distribution has no significant effect on the spatiotemporal and
knee kinematical characteristics of the transfemoral amputee gait, although it
can affect the spatiotemporal symmetry of locomotion.
CI - Copyright (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS