A study published online February 21 in Gait & Posture concluded that individuals with unilateral, transfemoral amputations who underwent compensatory-step training improved their recovery success and reliance on their prosthesis. Subjects decreased trunk flexion and increased the distance from the body center of mass (COM) to the stepping foot.
Researchers from the University of Illinois, Chicago, and the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, evaluated the effects of compensatory-step training of healthy, mobile, young-to-middle aged people with unilateral, transfemoral or knee disarticulation amputations. Outcomes of interest included recovery success, reliance on the prosthesis, and the kinematic variables relevant to trip recovery. Over the course of six training sessions, five subjects responded to postural disturbances that necessitated forward compensatory steps to avoid falling. Subjects improved their ability to recover from these postural disturbances without falling or hopping on the non-prosthetic limb. Subjects improved their compensatory stepping response by decreasing trunk flexion and increasing the sagittal plane distance between the body COM and the stepping foot. In response to more challenging disturbances, these training-related improvements were not observed for the initial step with the non-prosthetic limb. Regardless of the stepping limb, step length and the change in pelvic height were not responsive to training.
The researchers said that these results exhibit the potential benefits of a compensatory-step training program for individuals with amputations and informs future improvements to the protocol.
Editor’s note: This story was adapted from materials provided by Gait & Posture.
