Biomechanics of the hip disarticulation prosthesis/1

1 Previously published in Orthopadie Technik, 4/76, 58-60. Introduction M o r e than twenty years ago, McLaur in (1954) published his first report on the Canadian hip disarticulation prosthesis. His work was aimed at improving the conventional design of the saucer-type and tilting table prostheses. A measure of his success can be seen in that the Canadian-type has made the other two almost obsolete. Since its introduction, the prosthesis has changed very little. Modifications have been made to the socket and hip joint , but the principles have remained the same. T w o papers have been published to date which deal with the biomechanics of the prosthesis, Radcliffe (1957) and McLaur in (1969). Al though bo th authors gave an indication of force directions, it was not possible for either to indicate magnitudes since no experimental results were available at that time. The test reported here provides quantitative information on the variat ion with time of hip, and knee moments in bo th antero/posterior and medio/lateral planes, axial torque and axial force in the shank during the stance phase. There are two main features in McLaur in ' s prosthesis compared to the other types: