Gait analysis results for different pediatric prosthetic knee prescription protocols

Traditionally, children who need a prosthetic knee joint are not provided
with one in their first prosthesis. An alternative Early Knee protocol
provides a flexing knee in the first prosthesis. The purpose of this
multi-site study was to examine kinematic outcomes during walking in
separate groups of young children in an Early prosthetic knee prescription
protocol (EK) versus a traditional prosthetic knee
protocol (TK), along with a population of children without lower limb
amputations. Eighteen children aged 12 months to five years were recruited
for this study at two clinical sites, six in each of the three groups.
Children in the two prosthesis groups had unilateral limb loss and had
been treated at one site with the TK protocol or at another with the EK
protocol. All children walked at self-selected speed while kinematic data
were collected using similar Vicon motion analysis systems. Data include
joint angles, extrema, and ranges of motion used for the determination of
temporal and spatial gait parameters and swing-phase clearance
adaptations.