Differences in the Spatiotemporal Parameters of Transtibial and Transfemoral Amputee Gait

In Brief Lower limb amputees have less efficient gait patterns that may in part be due to spatiotemporal asymmetries. Transfemoral (TF) amputees are believed to have greater gait asymmetries than transtibial (TT) amputees, but this has not been clearly established. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of amputation level on step length, width, and time for prosthetic and sound legs. Other spatiotemporal gait parameters of this subject cohort were also reported. Subjects traversed a GaitRite walkway 10 times at their habitual walking speed. Step length, width, and time were selected a priori to compare by amputation level and between sound and prosthetic sides. In addition, a degree of asymmetry (DoA) was calculated and tested for each of these three parameters. This is a cross-sectional/observational study with 15 community ambulating, unilateral lower limb amputees (seven with TT and eight with TF amputation). Prosthetic and sound sides averaged together, TF amputees utilized shorter (62.2 ± 7.0 cm vs. 72.1 ± 7.1 cm, p = 0.0007) and wider (20.7 ± 4.2 cm vs. 15.4 ± 3.1 cm, p = 0.0008) steps that were of longer duration (0.65 ± 0.8 seconds vs. 0.59 ± 0.04 seconds, p = 0.009) than those of TT amputees. The DoA analysis indicated that TF amputee step times were more asymmetrical than those of TT amputees (DoA = −0.08 ± 0.05 vs. 0.01 ± 0.04, p = 0.0008). TF amputees walk with greater temporal, but not spatial, asymmetry than TT amputees. Transfemoral amputees are believed to have greater gait asymmetries than transtibial amputees, but this has not been clearly established. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of amputation level on step length, width, and time for prosthetic and sound legs. Other spatiotemporal gait parameters of this subject cohort were also reported. The study found that transfemoral amputees walk with significantly greater temporal, but not spatial, asymmetry than transtibial amputees due to their prosthetic leg spending a greater percentage of its gait cycle in swing phase and a smaller percentage in stance phase.