CLEARWATER, Fla. — Gait analysis can be used to effectively
evaluate prosthetic intervention success after amputation, according to a
presentation here at the Association of Children’s Prosthetic-Orthotic
Clinics (ACPOC) Annual Meeting. In conjunction with a team approach to
treatment, gait analysis provides a host of information about the
patient’s prosthetic development.
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| Meridith Anne Grasso | |
The study patient, an 8-year-old girl from China who had been run over
by a truck and sustained injuries leading to a left
hemipelvectomy, had been using a hip disarticulating
prosthesis for just more than a week, according to the study.
Researchers found that the patient showed a significant decrease from
normal gait, Meridith Anne Grasso, DPT, Shriners Hospitals for Children in
Philadelphia, said. Using the data they obtained, Grasso and the team at
Shriners were able to determine the best course of rehabilitation, including
continued training to improve gait, strengthening exercises and work to engage
the knee joint.
“Gait analysis and review by the medical team in this case did
enhance our understanding of the patient. It also showed us the
‘triggers’ that are present, particularly at the hip and knee joints,
as far as what’s causing gait dysfunction,” Grasso said.
She noted that progress was limited by the patient’s return to
China, based both on living conditions and cultural issues. Future research
should focus on creating proper prosthetic components, Grasso said.
