The missing link: How is the phantom limb influenced by prosthesis wearing in people with lower-limb amputation?

Background: Recent therapeutic and technological solutions aim to improve the daily living of people with limb amputation by considering various aspects of the phantom limb, in particular painless phantom sensations (PS) and voluntary phantom movements (VPM).

Objective: Although previous research has explored these phenomena mostly without considering the prosthesis, this study investigates the influence of prosthesis wearing on painless PS, painful PS, and VPM, in people with lower-limb amputation.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study based on semi-directed interviews.

Quantification of push-off and collision work during step-to-step transition in amputees walking at self-selected speed: Effect of amputation level.

Maintaining forward walking during human locomotion requires mechanical joint work, mainly provided by the ankle-foot in non-amputees. In lower-limb amputees, their metabolic overconsumption is generally attributed to reduced propulsion. However, it remains unclear how altered walking patterns resulting from amputation affect energy exchange.

Comparison of compensatory shoulder movements, functionality and satisfaction in transradial amputees fitted with two prosthetic myoelectric hooks.

The functionalities of myoelectric hooks, such as whether they allow wrist movements, as well as the volume and design of the devices, may impact how fitted transradial amputees use their upper limbs. The aim of the current study was to compare two prosthetic myoelectric hooks in terms of compensatory shoulder movements, functionality and user satisfaction. This monocentric, randomized, controlled, cross-over trial evaluated eight transradial amputees fitted with two prosthetic myoelectric hooks, the Greifer and the Axon-Hook, during two consecutive periods.

Phantom Sensations Influenced by Global and Local Modifications of the Prosthetic Socket as a Potential Solution for Natural Somatosensory Feedback During Walking: A Preliminary Study of a Single Case.

Following lower limb amputation, amputees are trained to walk with a prosthesis. The loss of a lower limb deprives them of essential somatosensory information, which is one of the causes of the difficulties of walking with a prosthesis. We here explored whether a solution to this lack of somatosensory feedback could come from natural sensations of the phantom limb, present in most amputees, instead of from substitutive technologies.