Date of Award
1-1-2017
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Organizational Unit
Daniel Felix Ritchie School of Engineering and Computer Science, Mechanical and Materials Engineering
First Advisor
Bradley S. Davidson, Ph.D.
Second Advisor
James Fogleman
Third Advisor
Peter Laz
Fourth Advisor
Corrinne Lengsfeld
Keywords
Dysvascular transtibial amputation, Whole-body kinematics, Motor control compensations
Abstract
Patients with unilateral dysvascular transtibial amputation (TTA) adopt movement compensations that are required to maintain balance and achieve ambulation in the absence of ankle plantar flexion, and result in increased and asymmetric joint loading patterns. As a result, this population is at an increased risk of overuse injuries, such as low back pain (LBP). Clinical gait analysis is used to guide diagnostics in movement retraining following amputation, and is performed using instrumented (research based) or observational analyses (clinically based). However, instrumented analyses are currently impractical in most clinical settings due to expense and computational limitations. This dissertation presents the use of segmental angular momentum to describe movement compensations in patients with TTA, and assess their effects on the musculoskeletal system; which provides a potential platform applicable in both instrumented and observational settings.
Ten patients with unilateral dysvascular TTA and two cohorts (patients with diabetes mellitus and healthy controls) completed one experimental study in which whole-body kinematics and core muscle demand were collected during walking and bilateral stepping tasks. Specific Aim 1 described the foundations of the separation of angular momentum into two components, translational (TAM) and rotational angular momentum (RAM) to describe movement coordination during healthy walking. Euler's rotational laws were used to calculate segmental translational and rotational moments, which provide insight into the effort required to generate and arrest momentum by their relation to external forces and moments. Specific Aim 2 described trunk and pelvis movement compensations in patients with TTA during walking using TAM and RAM. Specific Aim 3 described the trunk translational and rotational moments in patients with TTA during step ambulation. Finally, Specific Aim 4 described the demand from the core musculature that supports trunk movement compensations in patients with TTA during step ambulation.
The results from these Specific Aims indicate that patients with TTA generate larger amounts of TAM and RAM, which were caused by larger translational and rotational trunk moments and demand from core muscles, than healthy controls. These compensations alter the low back loading patterns, which may be reduced by targeted strengthening and retraining motor control compensations to better support trunk movements.
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Brecca M. M. Gaffney
Provenance
Received from ProQuest
File Format
application/pdf
Language
en
File Size
188 p.
Recommended Citation
Gaffney, Brecca M. M., "Segmental Movement Compensations in Patients with Transtibial Amputation Identified Using Angular Momentum Separation" (2017). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1273.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/1273
Copyright date
2017
Discipline
Biomechanics