A study, noting that research about gait and prosthetic design among people with lower-limb amputations most often focuses on men, compared gait among men and women. Women with transtibial amputations have been shown to have different risk factors and lower success with prosthetic devices overall, and sex differences exist in able-bodied gait as well. The researchers say that the results of their study have major implications for women with amputations and for sex-specific research, rehabilitation, and prosthetic design.
Forty-five people with transtibial amputations were asked to walk at their self-selected speed as the research team collected spatiotemporal gait data. The mean and variability metric of parameters were analyzed for ten male and ten female participants.
For all participants, amputated limbs had a shorter stance time, longer swing time, and larger step length. Women had a 10 percent shorter stance time and 26 percent larger normalized step and stride length than men. The women also walked over 20 percent faster than the men.
Finally, the study’s authors wrote, “significant interactions were found in the mean and variability metric of stride velocity, indicating greater variability in women. These findings suggest that sex differences exist in transtibial amputee gait, offering possible explanations for the different comorbidities experienced by female lower-limb amputees.”
The study, “Sex differences in spatiotemporal gait parameters of transtibial amputees,” was published in the Journal of Applied Biomechanics.
