A study published online May 6 in Prosthetics and Orthotics International examined the relationship between balance and walking abilities in people with transfemoral amputations using the Berg Balance Scale.
Thirty people with transfemoral amputations ranging in age from 18 to 78 years old (age: 54 ± 19 years) participated in the cross-sectional study. Outcome measures (Berg Balance Scale, Timed Up and Go test, Six-Minute Walk test, and use of ambulatory aids) were compared between the groups requiring and not needing ambulatory aids by the Mann-Whitney U test, Student’s t-test, or Welch’s t-test. Correlations were assessed using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients and age-corrected Spearman’s partial rank correlation coefficients.
The group using ambulatory aids had a significantly lower Berg Balance Scale score (41 ± 5 versus 52 ± 3), the study found, and no ceiling effect was observed.
