Walking Ability of Amputees with Unilateral Transfemoral Prosthesis / 中国康复理论与实践

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the characteristics of walking ability of the amputees with unilateral transfemoral prosthesis. Meth-ods 16 unilateral transfemoral amputees (patients) and 16 healthy adults (controls) were tested with 6-minute walking test indoor, 1000 m walking outdoor on various terrain, balance test and energy expenditure test. Results The speed, frequency and stride length were significant-ly less in the patients than in the controls (P0.05). There were significant differences in time and energy expenditure of outdoor 1000 m walk test between two groups (P<0.05). There were significant differences in time of outdoor 1000 m walk test and distance of indoor walking test be-tween amputees wearing mechanical four-link prosthetic knee joint and fluid control prosthetic knee joint (P<0.05), but not in energy expen-diture of indoor and outdoor walking test. Conclusion The amputees with unilateral transfemoral prosthesis appear the inefficient in gait, and expend more energy. Their balance remains well. The transfemoral prosthesis the amputees wore may impact their walking ability.