A study published online May 6 in Prosthetics and Orthotics International examined the relationship between balance and walking abilities in people with above-knee amputations using the Berg Balance Scale.
Thirty people with above-knee amputations ranging in age from 18 to 78 years old (age: 54 ± 19 years) participated in the cross-sectional study. Outcome measures (Berg Balance Scale, Timed Up and Go test, Six-Minute Walk test, and use of ambulatory aids) were compared between the groups requiring and not needing ambulatory aids by the Mann-Whitney U test, Student’s t-test, or Welch’s t-test. Correlations were assessed using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients and age-corrected Spearman’s partial rank correlation coefficients.
The group using ambulatory aids had a significantly lower Berg Balance Scale score (41 ± 5 versus 52 ± 3), the study found, and no ceiling effect was observed.