Compensatory strategies of body-powered prosthesis users reveal primary reliance on trunk motion and relation to skill level
Background
While body-powered prostheses are commonly used, the compensatory strategies required to operate body-powered devices are not well understood. Kinematic assessment in addition to standard clinical tests can give a comprehensive evaluation of prosthesis user function and skill. This study investigated the movement compensations of body-powered prosthesis users and determined whether a correlation is present between compensatory strategies and skill level, as measured by a standard clinical test.
Methods
Five transradial body-powered prosthesis users completed two standardized upper limb tasks. A 12-camera motion capture system was used to obtain three-dimensional angular kinematics for eight degrees of freedom at the trunk, shoulder, and elbow. Range of motion was compared to a normative dataset. Pearson's correlation was used to assess the relationship between the Activities Measure for Upper Limb Amputees and range of motion for each degree of freedom.
Findings
Participants displayed a statistically significant (P < .05) increase in range of motion at the trunk for both tasks. Shoulder flexion/extension range of motion was significantly reduced (P < .05) compared to normative values, but shoulder abduction/adduction range of motion did not show a consistent difference compared to norms. Skill level was correlated with range of motion for specific degrees of freedom at the trunk, shoulder, and elbow.
Interpretation
Body-powered prosthesis users compensated with trunk movement and showed reduced motion for shoulder flexion/extension, with relatively normal shoulder abduction/adduction. Skill level was correlated with angular kinematic strategies, which may allow targeting of specific therapeutic interventions for reducing compensatory movements.
Citation
A. Valevicius,
Q. Boser,
C. S.Chapman,
P. Pilarski,
A. Vette,
J. Hebert.
"Compensatory strategies of body-powered prosthesis users reveal primary reliance on trunk motion and relation to skill level". Clinical Biomechanics, 72, pp 122-129, February 2020.
| Keywords: |
Body-powered prosthesis users, Clinical assessment, Compensatory strategies, Functional tasks, Motion capture, Upper limb kinematics |
| Category: |
In Journal |
| Web Links: |
Journal |
BibTeX
@article{Valevicius+al:20,
author = {Aida M. Valevicius and Quinn A. Boser and Craig S.Chapman and
Patrick M. Pilarski and Albert H. Vette and Jacqueline S. Hebert},
title = {Compensatory strategies of body-powered prosthesis users reveal
primary reliance on trunk motion and relation to skill level},
Volume = "72",
Pages = {122-129},
journal = {Clinical Biomechanics},
year = 2020,
}Last Updated: November 10, 2020
Submitted by Sabina P 
