A Comparison between intact and prosthetic leg individual Muscle forces of transfemoral amputee subjects

Pourpose : A computer simulation was carried out to assess the following hypothesis: during the stance phase of a transfemoral amputee gait, forces of individual muscles of the transected limb are higher than those of the intact limb. Methods and Materials : With each muscle as an ideal force generator, the lower extremity was modeled as a linkage that hip and knee were its joints. Kinematic data of hip and knee joints were recorded by a motion analysis system.

Through an optimization approach, the forces exerted by muscles were determined so that the recorded hip and knee joint angles could be produced. Simulation results showed that the hypothesis is refuted.

Actually, the individual muscle forces of the prosthetic leg are lower than those of the intact leg. This is in line with studies that reported the hip torque of prosthetic leg is lower than that of the intact leg.