Changes in gait kinematics for a recent below the knee amputee child

The purpose of this preliminary study was to make kinematic comparisons of a recent below-the-knee amputee´s (BKA) gait with the gait of normals and an experienced BKA. Kinematic data were collected for four normal children, an experienced BKA child, and a novice BKA child. The results indicated that over time, the novice BKA seemed to approach a pattern more similar to that of the experienced BKA than that of the normal children. The differences in gait could be an appropriate adaptation to the morphological and physiological needs of the BKA subjects, suggesting that attempts to modify the gait of these subjects toward normal patterns might not be in their best interest.<>