Frequency and Circumstances of Falls Reported by Ambulatory Unilateral Lower Limb Prosthesis Users: A Secondary Analysis.

Falls were self-reported over the past 12 months, so recall bias could have led to missing falls or inaccurate descriptions. The analysis combined data from two earlier studies and had no a priori power calculation, so it is an initial description rather than a definitive estimate. Only ambulatory unilateral transtibial or transfemoral users who could walk with or without an assistive device were included, so results may not apply to bilateral amputees, ankle amputees, or people with mobility-limiting comorbidities. Eight falls were unknown because forms were incomplete or participants could not recall the event, and three framework categories were never used, so the taxonomy needs testing in larger samples. The study did not capture mental or physical state, lighting, time of day, or detailed prosthetic componentry at the time of the fall, so causes cannot be assigned. No fall severity, injury, medical attention, or surgery was reported for this sample, so frequency alone does not show which falls matter most.

The supplied publication types include NIH extramural and other research support, but the article text does not provide a conflicts of interest statement or say who funded this secondary analysis.

Do not conclude that changing prosthetic components or training balance will reduce falls. This paper only described self-reported fall circumstances and did not test any treatment.