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
. 2025 Dec 1;49(6):661-669.
doi: 10.1097/PXR.0000000000000416. Epub 2024 Dec 9.

Temporal characteristics of foot rollover of amputee walking gait when using an Energy Storage and Return prosthesis

Eugenia Soledad Muñoz-Larrosa  1   2 , Eloisa Garcia-Añino  1   2 , Gaston Schlotthauer  1   3 , Aliah F Shaheen  4   5 , Matthew Oldfield  5 , Paola Catalfamo-Formento  1   2
Affiliations

Temporal characteristics of foot rollover of amputee walking gait when using an Energy Storage and Return prosthesis

Eugenia Soledad Muñoz-Larrosa et al. Prosthet Orthot Int. .

Abstract

Background: Energy Storage and Return (ESAR) prosthetic feet provide improved walking when compared with previous designs. However, it may not mimic the unimpaired smooth and progressive movement of the foot on the floor (foot rollover).

Objective: To characterize the temporal foot rollover of participants with unilateral transtibial amputation using an ESAR prosthetic foot.

Study design: Cross-sectional.

Methods: Plantar pressure data were collected from 11 participants with unilateral transtibial amputation using ESAR prostheses (2 females, mean age 37 ± 10 years, activity levels K2-K4) and 9 unimpaired participants (3 females, mean age 33 ± 10 years). The Initial Contact, Final Contact, and Total Contact times of 7 areas of the feet (unimpaired, intact, and prosthetic feet) were studied together with the duration of the Heel Rocker, Ankle Rocker, and Forefoot Rocker. Results were compared using a mixed analysis of the variance test.

Results: Statistical analysis revealed an interaction ( P < 0.05) between foot and areas. The contact times were different ( P < 0.05) between unimpaired and prosthetic feet for most foot areas. Furthermore, the prosthetic foot showed the longest duration of Heel Rocker (21.1 ± 8.5% of stance phase vs. 17.7 ± 10.2% for the intact foot and 15.7 ± 8.8% for the unimpaired feet, P < 0.05) and the shortest duration of Ankle Rocker (43.8 ± 18.1% vs. 47.2 ± 16.9% for the intact foot and 50.0 ± 13.4% for the unimpaired feet, P < 0.05).

Conclusions: Results suggest that the ESAR foot does not mimic the unimpaired foot rollover, especially in the contact pattern and the heel and ankle rockers. This might have an impact on efficiency and stability of gait.

Keywords: Ankle Rocker; Forefoot Rocker; Heel Rocker; contact area; foot mask.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Perry J. Gait Analysis. Thorofare, NJ: B by SLACK Inc; 1992:524.
    1. Whittle MW. Gait Analysis. An Introduction. Fourth edn. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Butterworth Heinemann Elsevier; 2007.
    1. Riddick R, Farris DJ, Kelly LA. The foot is more than a spring: Human foot muscles perform work to adapt to the energetic requirements of locomotion. J R Soc Interface 2019;16:20180680.
    1. Adamczyk PG, Collins SH, Kuo AD. The advantages of a rolling foot in human walking. J Exp Biol 2006;209:3953–3963.
    1. Chauhan P, Singh AK, Raghuwanshi NK. The state of art review on prosthetic feet and its significance to imitate the biomechanics of human ankle-foot. Mater Today Proc 2022;62:6364–6370.

LinkOut - more resources