The effect of muscle atrophy in people with unilateral transtibial amputation for three activities: gait alone does not tell the whole story

Ziyun Ding*, David Henson, Biranavan Sivapuratharasu, Alison McGregor, Anthony Bull

*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

Amputation imposes significant challenges in locomotion to millions of people with limb loss worldwide. The decline in the use of the residual limb results in muscle atrophy that affects musculoskeletal dynamics in daily activities. The aim of this study was to quantify the lower limb muscle volume discrepancy based on magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and to combine this with motion analysis and musculoskeletal modelling to quantify the effects in the dynamics of key activities of daily living. Eight male participants with traumatic unilateral transtibial amputation were recruited who were at least six months after receiving their definitive prostheses. The muscle volume discrepancies were found to be largest at the knee extensors (35 %, p = 0.008), followed by the hip abductors (17 %, p = 0.008). Daily activities (level walking, standing up from a chair and ascending one step) were measured in a motion analysis laboratory and muscle and joint forces quantified using a detailed musculoskeletal model for people with unilateral transtibial amputation which was calibrated in terms of the muscle volume discrepancies post-amputation at a subject-specific level. Knee extensor muscle forces were lower at the residual limb than the intact limb for all activities (p ≤ 0.008); residual limb muscle forces of the hip abductors (p ≤ 0.031) and adductors (p ≤ 0.031) were lower for standing-up and ascending one step. While the reduced knee extensor force has been reported by other studies, our results suggest a new biomechanically-based mitigation strategy to improve functional mobility, which could be achieved through strengthening of the hip abd/adductor muscles.
Original languageEnglish
Article number111484
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Biomechanics
Volume149
Early online date6 Feb 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2023

Bibliographical note

0021-9290/Crown Copyright © 2023 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • muscle volume
  • muscle function
  • Transtibial amputation
  • activities of daily living

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