Interlimb symmetry of traumatic unilateral transtibial amputees wearing two different prosthetic feet in the early rehabilitation stage

This study evaluated the SACH and the Greissinger Plus prosthetic feet, in terms of the symmetry provided between the lower limbs, in the case of unilateral transtibial amputees 16.3 weeks from the time of limb fitting and 38.9 weeks from surgery. Sagittal plane gait analysis was carried out for nine right-limb traumatic amputees. In all examined cases, the spatial and temporal parameters measured were significantly improved. When the symmetry indexes of the same parameters calculated with three different methods were considered, significant improvement was observed for the hip and ankle ranges of motion and the stance phase period. However, no significant differences were found for the symmetry indexes of the knee range of motion, cadence, and walking speed. In addition, for most spatial parameters, the statistical significance varied considerably among the three methods used for the analysis of symmetry.