Can microprocessor knees reduce the disparity in trips and falls risks between above and below knee prosthesis users?

Area of Science:

• Prosthetics and Orthotics
• Biomechanics
• Rehabilitation Engineering

Background:

• Lower limb prosthesis users face a high risk of tripping and falling.
• Above-knee prosthesis users experience falls more frequently than below-knee users.
• Microprocessor knees (MPKs) were developed to mitigate fall risks in prosthesis users.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if microprocessor knees (MPKs) reduce the disparity in trip and fall frequency between above-knee and below-knee prosthesis users.
• To analyze the impact of MPKs on fall risk mitigation in unilateral, community ambulators.
• To identify factors associated with increased trip and fall frequency in prosthesis users.

Main Methods:

• A service review was conducted in a prosthetic limb center.
• Data from 315 unilateral, community ambulators on trips and falls in the previous four weeks were extracted.
• Ordered logistic regressions were used to analyze the association between MPK use, prosthesis type, and fall frequency, controlling for covariates.

Main Results:

• Non-microprocessor prosthetic knee (non-MPK) users tripped (OR = 1.96) and fell (OR = 3.34) significantly more than below-knee prosthesis users.
• MPK users did not show an increased frequency of trips (OR = 0.74) or falls (OR = 0.34) compared to below-knee users.
• Contralateral limb injuries and use of walking aids were associated with increased tripping.

Conclusions:

• Microprocessor knees (MPKs) appear to mitigate the increased risk of falls for above-knee prosthesis users.
• MPK use reduces the fall frequency disparity between above-knee and below-knee prosthesis users.
• These findings support the provision of MPKs to enhance safety and reduce falls in prosthesis users.