ANALYSIS & TRAINING OF AMPUTEES ON

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ANALYSIS & TRAINING OF AMPUTEES ON

OutlineOutline

Normal BiomechanicsDifferences with Below-Knee Stair PatternsImplicationsVideoBrainstorming!

**Consider what muscles / segments are affected in amputee clients during discussion

Normal CharacteristicsNormal Characteristics

Cadence– Ascent = 82-116 steps/min– Descent = 107-140 steps/min– Shorter women go faster!

Proportions:– Ascent = stance 50-65%– Descent = stance 19-68%– 31% double support

Trans-Tibial AmputeesTrans-Tibial AmputeesSlower velocity (Powers et al, 1997)

– Ascent: 80% of normal (29.6m/min vs 33.4m/min)

– Descent: 84% of normal (29.6m/min vs 35.2m/min)

Significant stance phase asymmetry, especially single support (decreased 12% ascending, 13% descending).

Trans-tibial AmputeesTrans-tibial Amputees

Powers et al (1997)Decreased velocity indicative of

– Limited ability to elevate body mass.– Diminished ability to maintain forward

progression.Diminished single support time is an

indication of instability, and difficulty controlling balance.

NormalsNormals

Large amount of intra-subject variability, but high correlations of certain characteristics between subjects.

Higher the activity in certain muscles, the lower the variability.

Indicates the inherent instability of this task.

Stair AscentStair AscentMcFadyen & Winter (1988)Stance

– Weight Acceptance (WA)– Pull Up (PU)– Forward Continuance (FCN)

Swing– Foot Clearance (FC)– Foot Placement (FP)

Weight AcceptanceWeight Acceptance

Moves body into optimal position to be pulled up onto the step.

Initiated by contralateral plantarflexors.Involves strong concentric activity of hip &

knee extensors.Ankle moves into ~130 dorsiflexion, with

soleus working eccentrically to stop too much knee flexion.

Weight Acceptance – BKA’sWeight Acceptance – BKA’s

Powers et al (1997)– Lengthened “initial double limb support”.– Indicates difficulty transferring weight

forwards onto prosthesis.– “Prosthetic DF only capable of ~70

Yack et al (1999)– Passive properties of prosthesis cannot limit

excessive knee flexion like soleus would.

Weight Acceptance – BKA’sWeight Acceptance – BKA’s

Torburn et al (1994)– Increased hip flexion (trunk flexion) to assist

moving weight forward over the foot.

Pull UpPull Up

Most unstable portion – body supported on one limb, while all joints are flexed.

Support moment twice normal gait. Concentric power generation by VL and

plantarflexors (mainly soleus). Hip moments & power are variable – must control

Head/Arms/trunk segment. Gluteus medius active at beginning of PU, keeping

pelvis level during single support.

Pull Up – BKA’sPull Up – BKA’s Powers (1997), Yack (1999) & Torburn (1994)

– Amputees used a “hip dominant” strategy to raise body weight, rather than “knee strategy”.

– Decreased joint moments & powers at knee & ankle.– Increased joint moments, powers, and total work at hip

20% inc hip extensor work; 40% inc VL work; Increased & prolonged hamstring contractions

– Assist hip extension– Protect distal tibial remnant from pressure on anterior

socket. RF recruited to assist VL.

Forward ContinuanceForward Continuance

The subject has ascended the step, & is moving forward to the next.

Mainly horizontal – no vertical shift of CoM until just prior to toe-off.

Support moment remains extensor, with burst of gatrocs/soleus activity at the end to produce vertical thrust.

Forward Continuance – BKA’sForward Continuance – BKA’s

Decreased hip extension range / increased trunk flexion.

No plantarflexion for vertical thrust.

Foot ClearanceFoot ClearanceInvolves lifting the leg & clearing the

intermediate step.Involves concentric dorsiflexor activity,

then concentric hamstring activity.Forward & up movement produced by hip

flexors (not RF) & contralateral vertical thrust.

Some RF activity to reverse knee flexion & limit heel rise.

Foot Clearance – BKA’sFoot Clearance – BKA’s

Decreased dorsiflexion range: ~50

Knee motion not significantly different (Powers et al 1997).

Foot PlacementFoot Placement

Hamstrings work eccentrically to lower the foot, with simultaneous concentric DF activity.

Final foot position is controlled by hip extensors.

Preparatory activity prior to foot contact in RF, VL, Glut max & glut med.

RF

VL

Gmax

Gmed

McFadyen & Winter (1988)

Other pointsOther pointsDifferences from ground to step 1

compared to step1 to step 3.Two peaks in GRF’s

– Start of single limb support = 107%BW– End of FCN corresponding to vertical thrust

= 115%BWNo periods of vertical movement without

concurrent horizontal movement.Support moment needing to be generated is

2-3 times that for level walking.

Other PointsOther Points

Need up to 1200 of knee flexion.

Points for BKA’sPoints for BKA’s

More prolonged & intense EMG (Powers et al 1997) through stance.– Total combined power generation avg 32% of isometric

MMT, vs 23% in normals.

Increased energy expenditure. Moment & power calculations may be decreased

around the knee, as calculations do not account for co-contraction with hamstrings.

DescentDescentMcFadyen & Winter (1988)Stance

– Weight Acceptance (WA)– Forward Continuance (FCN)– Controlled Lowering (CL)

Swing– Leg Pull-Through (LP)– Foot Placement (FP)

Weight AcceptanceWeight Acceptance

Usually a toe-strikeDominated by eccentric activity of RF, VL,

gastrocs & soleus.Most energy is absorbed by plantarflexors.

Weight Acceptance – BKA’sWeight Acceptance – BKA’s

Powers et al (1997)– Foot contact in ~ 30 DF, thus no toe-strike, and no

energy absorption through PF’s.– Increased Gmax & hamstrings activity to assist weight

shift.

? Softer contact = no momentum, & therefore must actively extend to shift weight.

Decreased knee flexion during WA.

Forward ContinuanceForward Continuance

Extensor moment at all 3 lower limb joints.Knee extends slightly while moving

forwards.Movement controlled by eccentric

plantarflexor activity.

Forward Continuance –BKA’sForward Continuance –BKA’s

Prolonged & more intense hip extensor activity.

Controlled LoweringControlled LoweringInvolves descent to the next step.Power absorbed by eccentric quads, less so

from soleus.Burst of concentric soleus activity at the

end, to relieve the extreme dorsiflexed position.

Hip flexors working concentrically – suggests working to control Head/Arms/Trunk segment rather than assist in the lowering of the body

Controlled Lowering – BKA’sControlled Lowering – BKA’s Powers et al (1997)

– Decreased knee flexion (170 vs 250).– Decreased ankle DF (100 vs 230).– Increased hip flexion (290 vs 170).– Greater anterior pelvic tilt.

Significant Gmax activity, & prolonged hams activity:

Hip involved in lowering body mass Hams co-contraction to protect distal tibia from excessive

pressure against socket (Yack et al 1999).

RF recruited earlier (late swing) and earlier cessation of activity (16% cycle vs 47% cycle).

Leg Pull ThroughLeg Pull Through

Hip continues to flex concentrically.Knee flexion required to clear intermediate

step (but not as much as ascent ~1000).Ankle dorsiflexes concentrically.

Foot PlacementFoot PlacementReversal of movement – hip & knee extend,

ankle plantarflexes.Hamstrings decelerate knee extension.Glut med active just prior to contact – may

have been involved in keeping limb abducted as well as preparing for WA.

Tib-Ant contraction just prior to contact to move impact point to outer border of foot.

Gastrocs co-contraction in preparation for impact.

Foot placement – BKA’sFoot placement – BKA’s

No active plantarflexion in preparation for impact.

Figure 4: EMG During Descent (McFadyen & Winter, 1988)

McFadyen & Winter 1988)

Other PointsOther Points

Differences from step 3 to 1 compared to step 2 to floor.

No vertical movements without concurrent horizontal movements.

Descent speed correlated significantly with cross-sectional area of knee extensors & psoas major – suggests muscle mass plays a role.

Other PointsOther Points

Evidence of preparatory actions in Gmed, Gmax, VL, & gastrocs.

Two peaks in GRF’s:– First at start of WA = 120%BW– Second at end of FCN / start CL = 100%BW

Greater Centre-of-Mass / Centre-of-pressure divergence indicates greater inherent instability in descent – “controlled fall” (Zachazewski et al 1993).

Other PointsOther Points

Use of handrail “in the usual fashion” did not influence flexion/extension moments (Andriacchi et al 1980).

Joint ROM required:– Up to 1000 knee flexion.– Up to 250 ankle dorsiflexion.

IMPLICATIONSIMPLICATIONS

1. Ascent & descent requires up to 1200 knee flexion & 250 dorsiflexion.

Uh oh. Reduce bulk in popliteal area. Foot placement in descent – toes over

edge to allow foot to roll over.

2. Large power bursts are required in the stance hip & knee, and in a greater range than level walking.

Train through required ranges concentric & eccentric.

Vary tread depth & riser height to alter intensity. “Power”, not strength. Consider speed & timing,

esp as hip & knee extend together in ascent. Consider:

– Part practice – part range -> full range.– Double support -> single support.– Practice step to same level -> 2 steps.– Minimise use of hand for pulling up or weight

bearing.– Maximal extension in ascent occurs before

contralateral foot placement.

3. In ascent, 2nd peak in GRF occurs at end of stance (vertical thrust), produced by PF’s.

No PF’s on amputated side – increased demand on extensors on intact side.

Older / frail vascular amputees may have difficulty ascending on intact limb as contribution from contralateral PF’s is absent -> need to train bilaterally.

Older / frail vascular amputees have weakness of intact PF’s (Winter et al 1990) -> increased demand on amputated side quads when ascending step over step.

4. Hip & Knee flexion occur simultaneously during swing in ascent.

Train as a unit.Make use of motion-dependent

characteristics of swing (momentum/inertia) to assist.

Specific strategies to increase strength & recruitment of psoas & hamstrings.

How much circumduction is allowed?

5. Activity in RF, VL, Gmax & Gmed is evident before foot contact.

Specificity of practice includes stages prior to targeted component to allow learning of preparatory actions.

6. At no time is there a vertical shift of CoM without a concurrent horizontal shift.

Clients must be trained to move forward & up, or forward & down.

Consider what muscles / prosthetic components should be involved in assisting or limiting this movement.

Eg plantarflexors normally control forward movement during FCN in descent. – What has to compensate? – Will the client avoid forward movement as they

feel they have no control?

7. During descent, the largest GRF occurs at weight acceptance – 120%BW – and most energy is usually absorbed by PF’s.

Implications even in “bad leg to hell” patterns.Landing is more stressful than lowering.Eccentric control of quads/hip

extensors/abductors must be trained during landing, including proper forward shift during WA, to assist in shock absorption and control forward shift in place of PF’s.

Increased demand on contralateral limb during it’s CL phase.

8. No toe-strike during descent on prosthetic side.

Contralateral limb may have greater demands on – Knee joint flexion– Eccentric quads strength through that increased

range.– Ankle dorsiflexion range.

Energy absorption through eccentric quads control -> train “impact” / knee flexion (no greater than ~230)

9. Differences in kinematics & kinetics observed with Floor <-> step vs step <-> step.

Also need to include approach – planning step lengths appropriately, & different ranges / powers on different steps.

Training on 1 step does not always carry over to a flight of steps.

10. Incorrect use of handrail is the most common compensation.

Pulling or weight bearing on rail masks kinematic or kinetic deviations.

Structure environment to minimise hand use but maintain safety:– Which side holds rail? Suggest ipsilateral.– Grip– Rail vs aid vs standby assist– Height of rail (or other hand support)– Step heights in part practice to allow practice of correct

activation patterns. Use of rail in normal fashion did not influence

flexion / extension moments.

11. Improve power in muscles that compensate for loss of ankle mechanism.

Ipsilateral VL, RF, (conc & ecc), hams as hip extensor

Contralateral PF’s, VL, RF, hams as hip extensor.

Ipsilateral hip flexors (no vertical thrust).

12. Remember to train Core Stability for trunk control.

Increased “hip dominance”, but they will need a stable base to work off.

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Powers, C.M, Boyd, L.A, Torburn, L, & Perry, J. (1997). Stair Ambulation in Persons with Transtibial Amputation: An Analysis of the Seattle Lightfoot. Journal of Rehabilitation research & Development, 34, 1, 9-18.

 Rowe, P.J, Myles, C.M, Walker, C, & Nutton, R. (2000). Knee joint kinematics in gait and other functional activities measured using flexible electrogoniometry: how much knee motion is sufficient for normal daily life? Gait and Posture, 12, 2, 143-155. 

Torburn, L, Schweiger G.P, Perry, J. & Powers, C.M. (1994). Below-Knee Amputee Gait in Stair Ambulation: a Comparison of Stride Characteristics Using Five Different Prosthetic Feet. Clinical Orthopaedics & Related Research, 303, 185-192.

Winter, D.A, Patla, A.E, Frank, J.S, & Walt, S.E. (1990). Biomechanical walking pattern changes in the fit and healthy elderly. Physical Therapy, 70, 6, 340-347.

Yack, H.J, Nielson, D.H, & Shurr, D.G. (1999). Kinetic Patterns during Stair Ascent in Patients with Transtibial Amputations Using Three Different prostheses. Journal of Prosthetics & Orthotics, 11, 3, 57- Yu, B, Kienbacher, T, Growney, E.S, Johnson, M.E, & An, K.E. (1997). Reproducibility of the kinematics and kinetics of the lower extremity during normal stair climbing. Journal of Orthopaedic Research. 15, 3, 348-352. Zachazewski, J.E, Riley, P.O, & Krebs, D.E (1993). Biomechanical analysis of body mass transfer during stair ascent and descent of

healthy subjects. Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development, 30, 4, 412-422.