A recent study described the results of an investigation into the effects of carrying side on gait kinetics for people with transtibial amputations. According to the study’s authors, the mixed results demonstrated kinetic changes due to side load carriage and suggest that the side on which people with transtibial amputations should carry a load depends on the desired effects, primarily on their intact limb.
The researchers evaluated 12 people with unilateral transtibial amputations during steady-state walking to determine which side they should use when carrying a load. The participants wore a passive-elastic foot and carried a side load of 13.6kg while walking at their self-selected speed. Kinetic metrics, including ground reaction force peaks and impulses, loading and unloading rates, and joint moments and powers, were analyzed.
The analysis indicated the following:
- The participants had smaller propulsive forces on their intact limb during the prosthetic side load condition.
- During the intact side load condition, they had smaller hip flexor moment in late stance and smaller knee flexor moment at the end of swing on their intact limb.
- They had higher hip and knee abductor moments on their intact limb and prosthetic limb in early and late stance during the contralateral side load condition.
- They generated higher hip extensor power at weight acceptance during the ipsilateral side load.
- Significant interactions were observed in hip extensor power and abductor moment, suggesting strong associations between hip extensor power generation and the ipsilateral side load and between hip abductor moment and the contralateral side load.
The study, “Should individuals with unilateral transtibial amputation carry a load on their intact or prosthetic side?,” was published in the Journal of Biomechanics.
