BACKGROUND

Minimum Toe Clearance (MTC) is defined as the minimum vertical distance between the lowest point under the front part of the foot and the ground, during mid-swing. Low values of MTC and walking on inclines are both related to higher probability of tripping and falling in lower limb amputees. New prosthetic designs aim at improving MTC, especially on ramps, however the real effect on MTC still needs investigation. The objective of this study was then to evaluate the effect of different prosthetic designs on MTC in inclined walking.

METHODS

Thirteen transtibial amputees walked on a ramp using three different prostheses: non articulating ankle (NAA), articulating hydraulic ankle (AHA), and articulating hydraulic ankle with microprocessor (AHA-MP). Median MTC, coefficient of variation (CV), and tripping probability (TP) for obstacles of 10 and 15 mm were compared across ankle type in ascent and descent.

FINDINGS

When using AHA-MP, larger MTC median values for ascending (P ≤ 0.001, W = 0.58) and descending the ramp (P = 0.003, W = 0.47) were found in the prosthetic limb. Also significantly lower CV was found on the prosthetic limb for both types of AHA feet when compared to NAA for descending the ramp (P = 0.014, W = 0.45). AHA-MP showed the lowest TP for the prosthetic leg in three conditions evaluated. On the sound limb results showed the median MTC was significantly larger (P = 0.009, W = 0.43) and CV significantly lower (P = 0.005, W = 0.41) when using an AHA in ascent.

INTERPRETATION

Both AHA prosthetic designs help reduce the risk of tripping of the prosthetic limb by increasing the median MTC, lowering its variability and reducing TP for both legs when ascending and descending the ramp. For most of the conditions, AHA-MP showed the lowest TP values. Findings suggest that AHA prostheses, especially AHA-MP could reduce the risk of tripping on ramps in amputees.