Muscle activity during stance phase of walking: Comparison of males with transfemoral amputation with osseointegrated fixations to nondisabled male volunteers

A recent development in prosthetics is the osseointegrated fixation (OF), with improvements in comfort, fatigue, hip movement, and ease of prosthetic attachment reported. However, little information is available regarding muscle function. This study reports on selected gait parameters of the residual limb during the stance phase of level overground walking, focusing on muscle activity. Five males with transfemoral amputation (TFA) with OFs were recruited. Ground reaction force (GRF), lower-limb kinematics, and surface electromyography (sEMG) from residual-limb muscles were recorded. sEMG data were also collected from a group of 10 nondisabled male subjects. Interstance variability of gait parameters was assessed by coefficient of multiple correlations. Repeatability of GRF and hip kinematics was high, whereas repeatability of the sEMG was low for four of the five individuals with TFA. Interstance variability of the sEMG for gluteus medius (GMED) was significantly greater in the group with TFA. The main difference in sEMG between the groups was the phase, with GMED and adductor magnus displaying greater differences than their counterparts in the nondisabled group. Results demonstrate that muscles in the residual limb retain aspects of their previous functional pattern.