Analysis of upper-body accelerations is a promising and simple technique for quantitatively assessing some general features of gait such as stability, harmony, and symmetry. Despite the growing literature on elderly healthy populations and neurological patients, few studies have used accelerometry to investigate these features in subjects with lower-limb amputation. We enrolled four groups of subjects: subjects with transfemoral amputation who walked with a locked knee prosthesis, subjects with transfemoral amputation who walked with an unlocked knee prosthesis, subjects with transtibial amputation, and age-matched nondisabled subjects. We found statistically significant differences for stability (p < 0.001), harmony (p < 0.001), and symmetry (p < 0.001) of walking, with general trends following the noted order of subjects, but with the lowest laterolateral harmony in subjects with transtibial amputation. This study is the first to investigate upper-body acceleration of subjects with unilateral lower-limb amputation during walking who were evaluated upon dismissal from a rehabilitation hospital; it is also the first study to differentiate the sample in terms of level of amputation and type of prosthesis used.
Keywords: accelerometry; ambulation; amputation; biomechanics; dynamic balance; gait; mobility; movement analysis; prosthesis; rehabilitation.