Normative Spatiotemporal Parameters During 100-m Sprints in Amputee Sprinters Using Running-Specific Prostheses

The aim of this study was to develop a normative sample of step frequency and step length during maximal sprinting in amputee sprinters. We analyzed elite-level 100-m races of 255 amputees and 93 able-bodied sprinters, both men and women, from publicly-available Internet broadcasts. For each sprinter's run, the average forward velocity, step frequency, and step length over the 100-m distance were analyzed by using the official record and number of steps in each race. The average forward velocity was greatest in able-bodied sprinters (10.04 +/- 0.17 m/s), followed by bilateral transtibial (8.77 +/- 0.27 m/s), unilateral transtibial (8.65 +/- 0.30 m/s), and transfemoral amputee sprinters (7.65 +/- 0.38 m/s) in men. Differences in velocity among 4 groups were associated with step length (able-bodied vs transtibial amputees) or both step frequency and step length (able-bodied vs transfemoral amputees). Although we also found that the velocity was greatest in able-bodied sprinters (9.10 +/- 0.14 m/s), followed by unilateral transtibial (7.08 +/- 0.26 m/s), bilateral transtibial (7.06 +/- 0.48 m/s), and transfemoral amputee sprinters (5.92 +/- 0.33 m/s) in women, the differences in the velocity among the groups were associated with both step frequency and step length. Current results suggest that spatiotemporal parameters during a 100-m race of amputee sprinters is varied by amputation levels and sex.