Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Abdulhadi, Hussein M.
• Kerrigan, D.Casey
• LaRaia, Paul J.

Titel

Contralateral shoe-lift: Effect on oxygen cost of walking with an immobilized knee

Ist Teil von

• Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation, 1996-07, Vol.77 (7), p.670-672

Ort / Verlag

New York, NY: Elsevier Inc

Erscheinungsjahr

1996

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Objective: Evaluate the effect of a contralateral shoe-lift on the oxygen cost of walking with an artificially immobilized knee. Design: A prospective quantitative evaluation of oxygen cost of walking under varying conditions. Subjects walked (1) normally (N), (2) with one knee immobilized (I), (3) with one knee immobilized and with a one-half-inch shoe-lift applied to the contralateral shoe ( I 1 2 ″L ), and (4) with one knee immobilized and with a one-inch shoe-lift (I1″L). Setting: Exercise physiology laboratory. Subjects: Ten able-bodied subjects without known cardiopulmonary or musculoskeletal problems. Main Outcome Measure: Breath-by-breath oxygen consumption measurements in mL/kg/m. Results: Oxygen cost on average was 20% more with the knee immobilized (I) compared to normal (N) (mean difference = .0298 ± .0245mL/kg/m, p = .002). Oxygen cost was significantly less (11% versus 20% above that of normal walking) with the half-inch shoe-lift (mean difference between 1 2 ″ and I = .0167 ± .0138mL/kg/m, p = .002). Similarly, oxygen cost was significantly less (12% versus 20% above that of normal walking) with the one-inch shoe-lift (mean difference between I1″L and I = .0142 ± .0116, p = .002). Conclusion: This study demonstrates that a subject with an immobilized knee requires less energy to walk with a contralateral shoe-lift and provides scientific evidence for prescribing a shoe-lift in patients with an immobilized knee as a result of knee joint fusion, knee immobilization as a result of casting or orthotics, or spastic paretic stiff-legged gait associated with upper motor neuron disease.