Ambulation of People With Lower-Limb Amputations: Relationship Between Capacity and Performance Measures

Abstract

Parker K, Kirby RL, Adderson J, Thompson K. Ambulation of people with lower-limb amputations: relationship between capacity and performance measures. Objectives: To examine the relationship between measures of ambulation capacity obtained in a clinical setting and measures of ambulation performance in the community, and to explore what demographic and clinical variables influence ambulation performance in people with lower-limb amputations. Design: A cross-sectional, correlational and descriptive study. Setting: Rehabilitation center and participants' homes and community environments. Participants: Community-dwelling people (N=52) with lower-limb amputations at the unilateral transfemoral (n=16), unilateral transtibial (n=30), and bilateral transtibial (n=6) levels. All had been fit with prostheses for over 1 year. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Measures of ambulation capacity were the Locomotor Capabilities Index version 5, the 2-Minute Walk Test (2MWT), and the Timed Up and Go Test. Measures of ambulation performance included a commercially available step activity monitor (SAM; steps per day, minutes active per day, peak activity index) and self-reported performance with the Activity Restriction subscales of the Trinity Amputation and Prosthesis Experience Scales (TAPES). Results: Most relationships among capacity and performance measures were in the moderate to high range (Spearman correlation coefficients, ρ=.41-.78, P