DOUBLE-LIMB SUPPORT AND STEP-LENGTH ASYMMETRY IN BELOW-KNEE AMPUTEES

The sequence of gait events and symmetry of kinematic parameters betwe en both lower limbs are compromised in below-knee amputees. In the pre sent study the periods of double-limb support and the step length in b elow-knee amputees were investigated. The symmetry of the two periods of double-limb support occurring in each stride was obviously abnormal (ratio: 0.74) among temporal and distance parameters. The time of dou ble-limb support (0.211 +/- 0.05 seconds) measured from heel-strike of the amputated leg until toe-off of the normal leg was significantly l onger (p = 0.011) when compared with the contralateral leg (0.173 +/- 0.04 seconds). The step length of the normal leg (0.709 +/- 0.07 m) wa s significantly (p = 0.045) shorter than that of the amputated leg (0. 752 +/- 0.08 m). Most of these differences between measured kinematic parameters can be explained by the limited ability of the prosthesis a nkle-foot component to reproduce the normal functions of both foot and ankle.