The assessment and description of amputee activity

Abstract

The activity achieved by a lower limb amputee is usually assessed by clinical judgement or physiological tests. The former is seldom absolute, being affected by factors such as patient age, and is expressed in categories which may not be equivalent to those used by other observers. Physiological testing provides a measure of the patient's capabilities, but not his activity which may be dependent more on social requirements than physical state. This paper describes a method of questioning the patient using multiple choice answers attracting positive and negative scores, which summate to provide an overall “Activity Score”. The procedure takes about 15 minutes and uses the minimum of observer judgement. The technique has been developed over six years and 2400 patients have been investigated. Validation procedures are described, including the use of step counters which show a substantially linear relationship between annual step rate and “Activity Score”.

Mobility of people with lower limb amputations: scales and questionnaires: a review

“…walking without an aid, with help of a crutch or frame, or wheelchair use). In Table 1b [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41] studies using scales with ordinal scores are given (e.g. walking outside the house, community walker, carry out several household activities, driving a car, etc.…”

“…The study by Hanspal and Fisher 16 used the Stanmore Harold Wood mobility scale, later used by several other authors in the UK. 18,21,22,23 'Using stairs' is included in the scale developed by Volpicelli et al, 6 and used by Datta et al 19 and Johnson et al 23 Table 1b [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41] gives an overview of the mobility of lower limb amputees without a distinct scale measuring mobility. This is done a less specific way than in the previous studies of Table 1a.…”

“…Climbing stairs with a prosthesis is a demanding task and in the Barthel Index 5 this is the final and most demanding item. In 14 studies 3,6,[25][26][27]29,30,[32][33][34]36,38,41 this item is included, but only Volpicelli et al 6 used this item in the measurement scale for mobility. The other studies studies with seven levels of mobility 12,13,17 as the widest measuring range.…”

Biomechanical evaluation of SACH and uniaxial feet

“…To quantify the activity level of each amputee, the assessment method proposed by Day (1981) was used. The average score for the below-knee amputees was 33, while that for the above-knee amputees was 37.…”

Certifying Fitness for Duty for High‐Functioning Amputees: A Review

“…A lower‐extremity amputee could rate all of those tasks as “very easy”; however, this would only provide a level of documentation that would suggest that the amputee could perform sedentary‐to‐modified light‐duty work. The Amputee Mobility Predictor was developed for administration before prosthetic fitting to assist with the prosthetic prescription; it combines the well‐known 6‐minute walk test with the Amputee Activity Survey (AAS), an instrument that gives the amputee an overall score that correlates with step counts [34,35]. In the original AAS instrument, points were given for full‐time work (although full‐time work is not defined) and time spent standing, walking, or load carrying while at work.…”