Evaluation of Balance Abilities in Expert Paralympic Athletes with Lower Limb Amputation

Abstract

Amputation of the lower limb affects balance abilities and leads subjects to learn how to balance relying on a single leg. Challenging evaluations for expert athletes, who have greater performance level than those of able-body subjects, are missing. Here, we propose a comprehensive protocol created ad-hoc for expert athletes with lower limb amputation to test their balance abilities in challenging conditions. In our evaluation, we tested the feasibility of this protocol that included dynamic exercises assessing both the active and proactive balance components while standing and sitting. Two Paralympic athletes, both with amputation level above the knee, are included in this pilot study. We evaluated their performance mainly assessing the trunk motion throughout an inertial measurement unit placed over the sternum. The protocol included three different exercises repeated in different conditions (i.e. eyes open vs. eyes closed). All subjects completed the protocol and the exercises and the measure we propose allow us to evaluate changes in subjects’ strategies, confirming the feasibility of this protocol to quantitatively evaluate balance performance.