GAIT IN MALE TRANS-TIBIAL AMPUTEES - A COMPARATIVE-STUDY WITH HEALTHY-SUBJECTS IN RELATION TO WALKING SPEED

Walking speed, stance duration and ground reaction forces were studied with the use of a stable force platform (Kistler) in 24 male trans-ti bial amputees and 12 healthy subjects matched for sex and age. The aim of the study was to compare the gait performance of two groups with u nilateral trans-tibial amputations for either vascular disease or trau ma and also to compare the results of the two groups with the results of a group of healthy subjects. Multiple linear regression analysis wa s used to compare the stance duration and the ground reaction forces i n relation to walking speed. The vascular and traumatic amputees had s ignificantly reduced walking speeds compared with the healthy subjects , 0.85+/-0.2 m/s and 0.99+/-0.2 m/s. respectively, as compared to 1.42 +/-0.2 m/s. By comparing the vascular and traumatic amputees with the healthy subjects in relation to walking speed, it was shown that the g ait performance of the vascular amputee differed from that of the trau matic amputee, a difference that was not caused by the reduced walking speed. The active forces during push off on both the healthy (p = 0.0 2) and the prosthetic leg (p = 0.003) in the trauma group were not fou nd in the vascular group. This disparity could be an effect of the sys temic disease. It may be argued that the results of this study contrib ute to the understanding of the reduced walking ability of the vascula r amputee and should be borne in mind when planning rehabilitation.