Prosthetic design influences peak joint moments during running

Lower extremity stance phase peak joint moments were compared for people with a unilateral transtibial amputation (TTA) running with daily-use (DUPs) and running-specific prostheses (RSPs). RSPs generated greater plantarflexion moments due to their design. Prosthetic limb knee and hip extension moments were lower than intact limb moments regardless of prosthesis used, suggesting that biological joints may be controlled similarly when running with different types of prostheses. However, hip moments were smaller in the intact and prosthetic limbs when running with RSPs, suggesting that these prostheses reduce muscular demands or require greater co-contractions of antagonistic muscles.