Article

There are many prosthetic feet (Pfeet) on the market, and those in the same
category do not necessarily have the same properties. We assessed three different
Pfeet in terms of gait patterns on various terrains, balance and walking speed in
a randomized double-blind controlled single-subject multiple-rater clinical
trial. The patient was a 43-year old man who was an active prosthesis user and
was amputated at transtibial level because of injury 17 years ago. One Solid
Ankle Cushion Heel and two Dynamic Elastic Response (DER) Pfeet were tried six
times in random order. The patient walked on flat, uneven, sloped terrain and
stairs. Gait pattern was rated in comparison with the patient's previous
prosthetic foot (Pfoot) by a physiatrist, physiotherapist, prosthetist and the
patient; one-leg standing test on the prosthesis and 10-m walking test were also
performed. The ratings differed significantly between the raters on each terrain,
and there was no agreement among the raters regarding the ranking order of the
Pfeet. All the Pfeet were generally rated as worse than the patient's previous
one. The patient gave lower ratings on average than the professionals and
recognized the order of the tested Pfeet. The results of one-leg standing test
with one DER and the Solid Ankle Cushion Heel Pfoot were statistically
significant better than with the other DER and the patient's previous Pfoot. Our
study therefore indicates that rehabilitation professionals, when blinded, cannot
always reliably observe differences in walking on different terrains with
different Pfeet. The patient may feel the differences, but those may not match
what the manufacturers declare.

Langue : ANGLAIS