Joint moments during sprinting in unilateral transfemoral amputees wearing running-specific prostheses.

Yuta Namiki,Satoru Hashizume,Akihiko Murai,Yoshiyuki Kobayashi,Hiroshi Takemura,Hiroaki Hobara

doi:10.1242/bio.039206

Abstract

ABSTRACTKnowledge of joint moments will provide greater insight into the manner in which lower-extremity amputees wearing running-specific prostheses regain running capacity and compensate for replacement of an active leg with a passive prosthetic implement. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate three-dimensional joint moments during sprinting for unilateral transfemoral amputees wearing running-specific prostheses. Ten sprinters with unilateral transfemoral amputation performed maximal sprinting at the 22 m mark while wearing running-specific prostheses. Joint moments were calculated through an inverse dynamics approach. All peak flexion and extension moments in the prosthetic leg were found to be lower than those of the intact leg, except for the peak plantar flexion moment. In the frontal plane, the peak adduction and abduction moments in the prosthetic leg were generally lower than those of the intact leg. The peak internal rotation moments differed significantly between the legs, but the peak external rotation moments did not. The results of the present study suggest that asymmetric joint moment adaptations occur for unilateral transfemoral amputees to compensate for replacement of the biological leg with a passive prosthetic knee joint and running-specific prosthesis.

Highlights

Carbon-fiber running-specific prostheses (RSPs) allow individuals with lower-extremity amputation to regain running capacity, partly by providing the residual leg with a spring-like function
Several studies reported that athletes with transtibial amputation wearing RSPs have asymmetrical vertical ground reaction force (GRF) and joint kinetics between prosthetic (PST) and intact (INT) legs across a wide range of speeds from 3.0 m/s up to top speed (Beck et al, 2017; Buckley, 2000; Grabowski et al, 2010; McGowan et al, 2012; Willwacher et al, 2017)
The ankle plantar flexion and internal rotation moments of the PST were significantly greater than those of the INT (Table 1). These results contrast with our initial hypothesis that the joint moments of the PST would be smaller than those of the INT in unilateral transfemoral amputees during sprinting

Summary

Introduction

Carbon-fiber running-specific prostheses (RSPs) allow individuals with lower-extremity amputation to regain running capacity, partly by providing the residual leg with a spring-like function. Knowledge of the running mechanics will provide greater insight into the manner in which lower-extremity amputees wearing RSPs regain running capacity and compensate for replacement of an active leg with a passive prosthetic implement. No study has reported joint kinetics during sprinting in unilateral transfemoral amputees

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Conclusion