title: Normative Spatiotemporal Parameters During 100-m Sprints in Amputee Sprinters Using Running-Specific Prostheses.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hobara
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Potthast
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Thijs A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Heldoorn
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mochimaru
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000674:Amputees; D001186:Artificial Limbs; D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D012420:Running / Q000502:physiology*