As a well-adapted prosthetic socket is crucial to a successful rehabilitation process, developing a more comfortable socket could improve the quality of life for those with transfemoral amputations. With that in mind, a case report compared two transfemoral sockets by evaluating the relationship between socket stiffness and user comfort and their influence on functionality to improve the quality of life for those with transfemoral amputations.
The participant received two sockets: a flexible Flixt socket and a conventional socket. The participant used each socket for 90 days, was evaluated at a gait laboratory for kinematic and dynamic analyses, then completed the Prosthesis Evaluation Questionnaire (PEQ), and performed the Timed Up and Go test, Six Minute Walk Test (6MWT), 10 Meter Walk Test, and Amputee Mobility Predictor test.
After the results were analyzed, the researchers assigned the socket that had obtained the best degree of satisfaction to the participant. Combined measures showed that the conventional socket did not considerably change the kinematic parameters. Results of the PEQ showed that the flexible Flixt socket had a better rating than the conventional socket. The results of the other assessments obtained identical values, save for the 6MWT.
The case report concluded that the results showed evidence of participant satisfaction improvement when using the flexible socket, and that both sockets are reasonably effective.
