The effect of footwear mass on the gait patterns of unilateral below-knee amputees

This study reports an investigation into the effect of shoe mass on the gait patterns of below-knee (BK) amputees. Ten established unilateral BK, patellar-tendon-bearing prosthesis wearers were assessed using a VICON system of gait analysis. Incremental masses of 50g (up to 200g) were added to the subjects' shoes and data captured as they walked along a 15m measurement field. Coefficients of symmetry of various parameters of the swing phase (knee frequency symmetry, swing time symmetry) were measured and their correlation was tested with the patient's preferred shoe mass and also their own shoe mass, all expressed as a proportion of body mass. The subjects' 'preferred' shoe mass (139-318g) showed the greatest symmetry in all the parameters examined (correlations 0.78-0.81 p less than 0.01 and less than 0.005), whereas there was no correlation between the subjects' own shoe mass (121-325g) and the symmetry coefficients measured.