Transtibial amputation accounts for 3,700 cases per year in France. Athletes can use sport blades made of carbon plate for improved energy restitution. Sports blades are adjusted according to the manufacturer's recommendations and the subjective experience of the ortho-prosthetist and patient. These adjustments are designed to optimize performance and comfort while reducing the risk of injury. This risk is all the greater when asymmetries between the healthy and affected limbs are large, exposing the healthy limb to large and repeated reaction forces.
Furthermore, one of the performance criteria for long-distance running is energy cost. While a reduction in this parameter has been observed in bilateral amputees, heterogeneous data are reported in unilateral amputees, depending on the level of expertise and sports blade settings. While studies have investigated the effects of running with a prosthesis under conditions representative of track running, few data are available on sports blades designed for long-distance running. It therefore seems important to be able to objectively assess the effects of a change in the stiffness of the sports blade on the energetics and biomechanics of running, in order to optimize practice and prevent associated traumas. Secondly, investigators believe it is important to verify that the biomechanical results obtained in the laboratory are applicable in the field, both on the road and on the unstable terrain encountered by trail runners.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
24
5-minute warm-up run on treadmill at a freely chosen speed
4-minute run on a treadmill with a flat incline.
4-minute run on treadmill with a 10% gradient
1 min running test on an instrumented treadmill (Gaitway, H/P/Cosmos, Nußdorf, Germany) at comfort speed.
100-metre outdoor run at a comfort speed
Centre Hospitalier Universitaire
Saint-Etienne, France
RECRUITINGOxygen consumption measurement
4-minute flat run on a treadmill at comfort speed
Time frame: Day 1
Oxygen consumption measurement
4-minute up hill run (+10%), on a treadmill at comfort speed
Time frame: Day 1
Kinematic analysis
Slope-dependent kinematic analysis by measuring joint angles (in degrees), moments (Nm) and net joint forces at ankle, knee and hip (in Nm/Kg), ground reaction forces (in N/Kg) during a 1-minute run on different slopes (downhill -10%, flat, uphill +10%).
Time frame: Day 1
Cadence of running (in steps per minutes)
Cadence of running according to slope (downhill -10%, flat, uphill +10%) and terrain, measured during a 1-minute run on a carpet
Time frame: Day 1
Stride length (in meters) of running
Stride length of running according to slope (downhill -10%, flat, uphill +10%) and terrain, measured during a 1-minute run on a carpet
Time frame: Day 1
Cadence (in steps per minute) of running
Cadence of running according to gradient (downhill -10%, flat, uphill +10%) and type of terrain, measured during a 100-metre run on roads and paths.
Time frame: Day 2
Stride length (in metres) of running
Stride length (in metres)of running according to gradient (downhill -10%, flat, uphill +10%) and type of terrain, measured during a 100-metre run on roads and paths.
Time frame: Day 2
Leg muscle activity (mV)
Recording of leg muscle activity under all conditions using surface electromyographic recordings (Trigno wireless electromyogram (EMG) electrodes (Delsys, Natick, USA) made on the vastus lateralis, rectus femoris and gluteus medius muscles (Root Mean Square (RMS).
Time frame: Day 1, 2
Subjective sensation recording
Recording of the subjective sensation of perceived exertion at the end of each condition using a Borg scale ranging from 0 to 10. 0 = It is very very easy 10= so hard that I have to stop
Time frame: Day 1, 2
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