As more and more prosthetic feet become commercially available, the selection of the appropriate device is a more difficult task for clinical team members. To date, ranking prosthetic feet based on biomechanical parameters has been done using the spring efficiency. The current analytical technique for calculating spring efficiency has two flaws: first, prosthetic feet with a bendable flexible k...

Prosthetic alignment is an important factor in the overall fit and performance of a lower-limb prosthesis. However, the association between prosthetic alignment and control strategies used by persons with transfemoral amputation to coordinate the movement of a passive prosthetic knee is poorly understood. This study investigated the biomechanical response of persons with transfemoral amputation...

OBJECTIVES To identify characteristics of upper-body kinematics and torque transmission to the ground during locomotion in a group of patients with transfemoral amputation as compared with a group of asymptomatic subjects; and to investigate the influence of walking velocity and residual limb length on several characteristics of upper-body motion. DESIGN Three-dimensional gait analysis with a...

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 s...

The benefits of microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knees (MPKs) have been well established in community ambulators (Medicare Functional Classification Level [MFCL]-3) with a transfemoral amputation (TFA). A systematic review of the literature was performed to analyze whether limited community ambulators (MFCL-2) may also benefit from using an MPK in safety, performance-based function and mobi...

Between January 1992 and December 1998, we treated 24 patients with necrotising fasciitis of a limb. There were 15 men and nine women with a mean age of 59.8 years (5 to 86). The infection was usually confused with cellulitis. Exquisite pain and early systemic toxicity were the most consistent clinical features. Diabetes mellitus and hepatic cirrhosis were the most commonly associated medical d...

Tumor progression during end-of-life care can lead to significant pain, which at times may be refractory to routine analgesic techniques. Although regional anesthesia is commonly used for postoperative pain care, there is limited experience with its use during home hospice care. We present a 24-year-old male with end-stage metastatic osteosarcoma who required anesthetic care for a right-sided a...

Methods: We conducted a comparative study of two groups of patients suffering from arterial insufficiency of the lower extremities, and the decision taken to amputate above the knee for both of them. A group of patients selected for a therapeutic peripheral intervention, and the effect of this intervention in improving the level of amputation studied and calculated statistically. The study cond...