Feasibility of repeated session error-augmentation gait training for people with nontraumatic transtibial amputation.
Paul W Kline, Hope C Davis-Wilson, Noel F So and 2 others
PMID 36037273WHAT IT FOUND
Step length symmetry improved one week after repeated split-belt error-augmentation training in people with non-traumatic transtibial amputation.
Seven of eight completed training, but one developed a residual limb blister and there was no control group.
Key findings
01Average step length symmetry improved one week after training: the reported asymmetry value was 2.41, compared with 5.47 at baseline.
02Seven of the eight participants completed the repeated error-augmentation training at the prescribed dose, and one stopped because of a residual limb skin blister.
03Individual responses varied: three participants improved beyond their baseline variability, two improved but remained within their baseline variability, and two worsened one week after training.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study had no control group, so the one-week symmetry change could have come from extra walking or other factors rather than error-augmentation training. Only eight people were enrolled, and the sample was a convenience sample with no planned sample size calculation. All participants were male, so the findings may not apply to women with transtibial amputation. Follow-up was only one week, so longer-term retention is unknown. One participant stopped because of a residual limb skin blister, and residual limb wound history was not fully available. Individual responses varied widely. The study counted overcorrection or reversal of asymmetry as a positive result. Split-belt treadmills may not be available in most clinics.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the one-week symmetry improvement as proof that error-augmentation training works. The study had no control group, only seven participants completed training, and two participants worsened after training.