Date Approved

2000

Graduate Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Physical Therapy (M.S.)

Degree Program

Physical Therapy

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe the gait characteristics of children with unilateral transtibial amputation. Four subjects with a unilateral transtibial amputation, ranging in age from twelve to sixteen years, were recruited through Mary Free Bed’s Center for Limb Deficiency. Testing was performed at the Mary Free Bed Motion Analysis Center under an established protocol for collecting and processing kinetic, kinematic, and temporal-spatial parameters using the Vicon® 512 motion analysis system. EMG data were processed using custom Matlab® (version 5.13) programs. The gait of each subject was individually evaluated for key gait events. Some important findings include decreased ankle power generation in terminal stance, compensatory hip extension power in early stance, co-contraction of the rectus femoris and hamstring muscles, and overall interlimb asymmetry. Generalization of these findings to the larger population is not possible, however there are some findings that are contrary to previous research.

Comments

Questions or concerns regarding the copyright status of this item may be directed to scholarworks@gvsu.edu.

Download

Share

COinS