Rigid plaster dressings and immediate postoperative prostheses (IPOP) in patients undergoing transtibial amputations have been reported to reduce pain and healing time, prevent knee flexion contractures, and expedite early ambulation compared to soft dressings. Yet, despite the reported benefits, surgical adoption of (conventional) rigid dressings and IPOP has been inconsistent. The purpose of ...

PURPOSE The optimal method of posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) reconstruction is not known. The purpose was to evaluate the biomechanical and clinical literature comparing open tibial inlay and arthroscopic transtibial PCL reconstructions and determine which method of reconstruction is superior. METHODS A systematic review of the literature was performed on PubMed. Biomechanical and clinical...

Purpose To analyze the location of the femoral tunnel by three-dimensional computed tomography (3D CT) of the lateral condyle in patients who underwent arthroscopic single-bundle anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction, performed using a modified transtibial technique, and to compare the results with data from the literature. Materials and Methods Seventeen patients with ACL lesions u...

BACKGROUND AND AIM It has been reported that cycling-specific research relating to participants with an amputation is extremely limited in both volume and frequency. However, practitioners might participate in the development of cycling-specific prosthetic limbs. This technical note presents the development of a successful design of a prosthetic limb developed specifically for competitive cycli...

Substantial evidence suggests that the design and associated mechanical function of lower-limb prostheses affects user health and mobility, supporting common standards of clinical practice for appropriate matching of prosthesis design and user needs. This matching process is dependent on accurate and reliable methods for the functional classification of prosthetic components. The American Ortho...

The majority of the commercial transtibial prostheses are purely passive devices. They store energy in an elastic element during the beginning of a step and release it at the end. A 75 kg human, however, produces on average 26 J of energy during one stride at the ankle joint when walking at normal cadence and stores/releases 9 J of energy, contributing to energy efficient locomotion. According ...

BACKGROUND Optimal tunnel placement is critical in anterior cruciate ligament reconstructive surgery, yet the method used to drill the tunnels may compromise their placement. HYPOTHESIS An independent drilling method versus a conventional transtibial drilling method will place tunnels in different locations and produce reconstructions with different kinematics. STUDY DESIGN Controlled labor...

Five solid-ankle experimental prosthetic feet were used in this double-blind randomized crossover study to determine the effects of forefoot flexibility on gait of 14 unilateral transtibial prosthesis users. Flexibility in experimental feet was altered by changing the number of flexural hinges in their forefoot sections. When experimental prosthetic foot conditions were compared, measured prost...

Control schemes for powered ankle-foot prostheses would benefit greatly from a means to make them inherently adaptive to different walking speeds. Towards this goal, one may attempt to emulate the intact human ankle, as it is capable of seamless adaptation. Human locomotion is governed by the interplay among legged dynamics, morphology and neural control including spinal reflexes. It has been s...