TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2014//
TI  - Toe clearance when walking in people with unilateral transtibial amputation: effects of passive hydraulic ankle
JO  - Journal of rehabilitation research and development
A1  - Johnson, Louise
A1  - De Asha, Alan R.
A1  - Munjal, Ramesh
A1  - Kulkarni, Jai
A1  - Buckley, John G.
SP  - 429
EP  - 438
VL  - 51
IS  - 3
N2  - Most clinically available prosthetic feet have a rigid attachment or incorporate an "ankle" device allowing elastic articulation during stance, with the foot returning to a "neutral" position at toe-off. We investigated whether using a foot with a hydraulically controlled articulating ankle that allows the foot to be relatively dorsiflexed at toe-off and throughout swing would increase minimum toe clearance (MTC). Twenty-one people with unilateral transtibial amputation completed overground walking trials using their habitual prosthetic foot with rigid or elastic articulating attachment and a foot with a hydraulic ankle attachment (hyA-F). MTC and other kinematic variables were assessed across multiple trials. When using the hyA-F, mean MTC increased on both limbs (p = 0.03). On the prosthetic limb this was partly due to the device being in its fully dorsiflexed position at toe-off, which reduced the "toes down" foot angle throughout swing (p = 0.01). Walking speed also increased when using the hyA-F (p = 0.001) and was associated with greater swing-limb hip flexion on the prosthetic side (p = 0.04), which may have contributed to the increase in mean MTC. Variability in MTC increased on the prosthetic side when using the hyA-F (p = 0.03), but this did not increase risk of tripping.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0748-7711
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1682/JRRD.2013.05.0126
ID  - ref1
ER  -