Energy expenditure and gait characteristics of a bilateral amputee walking with C-leg prostheses compared with stubby and conventional articulating prostheses.

OBJECTIVE To compare energy cost and stride characteristics during walking with 3 different types of prostheses in a person with bilateral knee disarticulations. DESIGN Single-case study. Setting Pathokinesiology laboratory. PARTICIPANT A subject with bilateral knee disarticulations and bilateral transradial amputations secondary to meningococcemia with purpura fulminans. INTERVENTIONS Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Energy cost, stride characteristics, and motion analysis. RESULTS When wearing the C-Leg prostheses, the subject walked the farthest and fastest, with an overall lower rate of oxygen consumption and oxygen cost compared with walking with either of the other prostheses. Gait analysis while the patient was wearing the C-Leg prostheses revealed premature hip extension, absence of knee flexion during loading response, and a rate of swing in the referent range. CONCLUSIONS Walking in a C-leg was the most efficient method of ambulation for our subject.