Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Nov 13;19(1):398.
doi: 10.1186/s12891-018-2313-2.

Bicycling participation in people with a lower limb amputation: a scoping review

Jutamanee Poonsiri  1   2 , Rienk Dekker  3 , Pieter U Dijkstra  3   4 , Juha M Hijmans  3 , Jan H B Geertzen  3
Affiliations

Bicycling participation in people with a lower limb amputation: a scoping review

Jutamanee Poonsiri et al. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. .

Abstract

Background: To review literature on bicycling participation, as well as facilitators and barriers for bicycling in people with a lower limb amputation (LLA).

Methods: Peer-reviewed, primary, full text, studies about bicycling in people with a LLA from midfoot level to hemipelvectomy were searched in Pubmed, Embase, Cinahl, Cochrane library, and Sportdiscus. No language or publication date restrictions were applied. Included full-text studies were assessed for methodological quality using the Effective Public Health Practice Project tool. Data were extracted, synthesized and reported following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review.

Results: In total, 3144 papers were identified and 14 studies were included. The methodological quality of 13 studies was weak and 1 was moderate. Bicycling participation ranged from 4 to 48%. A shorter time span after LLA and a distal amputation were associated with a higher bicycling participation rate particularly for transportation. In people with a transtibial amputation, a correct prosthetic foot or crank length can reduce pedalling asymmetry during high-intensity bicycling. People with limitations in knee range of motion or skin abrasion can use a hinged crank arm or a low profile prosthetic socket respectively.

Conclusion: People with a LLA bicycled for transportation, recreation, sport and physical activity. Adaptation of prosthetic socket, pylon and foot as well as bicycle crank can affect pedalling work and force, range of motion, and aerodynamic drag. Because the suggestions from this review were drawn from evidences mostly associated to competition, prosthetists should carefully adapt the existing knowledge to clients who are recreational bicyclists.

Keywords: Amputation; Bicycling; Lower limb; Motivation; Prosthesis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow diagram of studies inclusion and exclusion
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Percentages of people with a LLA bicycling for recreation and transportation in four countries. PF partial foot, TT transtibial, TF transfemoral, Bilat bilateral. *The level of amputation in the bilateral group was not reported in the study
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Oja P, Titze S, Bauman A, de Geus B, Krenn P, Reger-Nash B, et al. Health benefits of cycling: a systematic review. Scand J Med Sci Sport. 2011;21:496–509. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0838.2011.01299.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Laverty AA, Mindell JS, Webb EA, Millett C. Active travel to work and cardiovascular risk factors in the United Kingdom. Am J Prev Med. 2013;45:282–288. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2013.04.012. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Fox SM, Haskell WL. Physical activity and the prevention of coronary heart disese. Bull N Y Acad Med. 1968;44:950–959. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Oja P, Manttari A, Heinonen A, Kukkonen-Harjula K, Laukkanen R, Pasanen M, et al. Physiological effects of walking and cycling to work. Scand J Med Sci Sport. 1991;1:151–157. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0838.1991.tb00288.x. - DOI
    1. Steptoe A, Butler N. Sports participation and emotional wellbeing in adolescents. Lancet. 1996;347:1789–92. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(96)91616-5. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types