At a glance - Comparison of gait of persons with partial foot amputation wearing prosthesis to matched control group: Observational study

JRRD at a Glance

Comparison of gait of persons with partial foot amputation wearing prosthesis to matched control group: Observational study

Michael P. Dillon, BPO(Hons), PhD;Timothy M. Barker, BE(Hons), PhD

We aimed to describe how people with partial foot amputation walk while wearing their existing prosthesis and footwear. Our results suggest that people with metatarsophalangeal amputation who wear insoles walk in much the same way as people without amputation. People with transmetatarsal and Lisfranc amputations who wear a low-profile prosthesis that does not restrict ankle movement have a unique way of walking: they keep pressure under the foot behind the end of the remaining foot for most of the stance phase. Many walking features are normalized in people with Chopart amputation who wear a clamshell prosthesis, even though their ankle is immobilized. Once the ball of the person's foot was amputated, his or her hip joint muscles, not calf muscles, did most of the muscle work required to walk.

Volume 45 Number 9, 2008
Pages 1317 — 1334

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