Of the estimated 1.6 million people in the United States living with limb loss, approximately 1.3 million (86 percent) have a lower-limb amputation.1-2 When these individuals fail to achieve prosthesis-assisted ambulation, they are at an increased risk for physical deterioration, a number of comorbid health conditions, and compromised overall health.3 In addition, those who are able to ambulate with a prosthesis often do so with characteristic gait asymmetries including altered limb loading patterns and movement strategies.4 These adaptive gait strategies are frequently less metabolically efficient, increasing the metabolic costs of walking, especially for individuals with more proximal amputation levels or bilateral amputations. As a result, they may reduce their self-selected walking speed to reduce their energy consumption.
