Free-Living User Perspectives on Musculoskeletal Pain and Patient-Reported Mobility With Passive and Powered Prosthetic Ankle-Foot Components: A Pragmatic, Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study.
Andreas Kannenberg, Arri R Morris, Karl D Hibler
PMID 36188863WHAT IT FOUND
Current users of powered prosthetic feet reported less knee pain and better mobility than when they used passive feet.
However, most people who tried the powered device gave it up because it did not help them, so it is not a universal fix.
Key findings
01People who kept using the powered ankle-foot device reported significantly less sound-knee pain and better mobility than they recalled with their previous passive foot.
02Most of the people invited to the study had abandoned the powered device, and those who still used a passive foot did not recall any benefit from having tried the powered one.
03The newer version of the powered device was kept by far more users than the older version, and only users of the newer version reported significant reductions in knee pain.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study relied on memory. Participants compared how they feel now with how they remember feeling in the past, which is prone to error. The response rate was very low. Only 52 of 250 people invited completed the survey. Every participant was male, and 80% had lost their limb due to trauma, so the results may not apply to women or people with amputations from other causes. The study did not account for other factors that affect pain, such as the alignment of the prosthesis or whether the person was receiving physical therapy. The study was funded by the manufacturer of the device, and two of the authors work for that company.
Declared interests
The study was funded by a research grant from Otto Bock Healthcare, the manufacturer of the Empower device. Two of the authors are full-time employees of Otto Bock Healthcare.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume the powered foot works for everyone. The study found that most people who tried it gave it up because they did not experience a benefit, and the positive results came only from the people who chose to keep using it.