Influence of different types of sockets on the range of motion of the hip joint by the transfemoral amputee

PurposeTo compare the individual influence of different types of socket designs on the hip's range of motion in transfemoral amputees.Patients and methodsWe studied the kinematic parameters of the hip joint for patients with transfemoral amputation under four experimental conditions: without a socket, with a quadrilateral socket, an ischial containment socket, an ischial-ramal containment socket. An opto-electronic system was used to record the movements in the frontal and sagittal planes for a 3D movement analysis.ResultsThe hip's range of motion is always significantly restricted with the sockets, regardless of their type, compared to the situation without a socket (P < 0.05). The adduction and extension movements are the most restricted. The global amplitude (i.e., the sum of all the ranges of motion) is significantly higher for the ischial-ramal containment socket (139.5°) compared to the ischial containment socket (125.4°, P = 0.002) and the quadrilateral socket (127.3°, P = 0.01). No comparable study exists in the literature, especially for the ischial-ramal containment socket.ConclusionThe ischial-ramal containment socket seems to be the most interesting type of socket in terms of the criterion studied. It still remains to identify the possible functional improvements that this design would provoke during gait and during daily activities.