Spinal Motion during Walking In Persons with Transfemoral Amputation With and Without Low Back Pain: Preliminary Results

Introduction Low back pain (LBP) is a prevalent condition among the general population (Roach, et al., 1997); however it was found to be as much as 71% higher in persons with transfemoral amputation (TFA) (Smith, et al., 1997). Persons with TFA are significantly more likely to suffer from LBP than persons with transtibial amputation (Kulkarni, et al., 2005; Smith, et al., 1999). LBP is so problematic in persons with lower extremity amputations that it has been described as a secondary disability (Ehde, et al., 2001). This work is supported by the Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) grant number H133E080009. The contents of this paper do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education and do not constitute endorsement by the Federal Government. Data were collected at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center Motion Analysis Research Laboratory, Chicago, IL. These are the current results of an ongoing NIDRR study.