Functional outcomes for persons with above knee amputation fitted with different prosthesis types.

Each participant will undergo one assessment of approximately 90 minutes duration. All assessments will be conducted at the Perron Institute, RR Block, QE II Medical Centre, 8 Verdun St, Nedlands, WA. All assessments will be conducted by the study investigator (physiotherapy Honours student) with supervision from a qualified physiotherapist. The assessment will comprise three parts. First, participants will be asked to carry out the timed up and go (TUG) test. The TUG test incorporates many components of basic mobility, including walking, turning, transfers, and balance. The TUG test is conducted by recording time (seconds) for the participant to stand from a seated position, walk three metres, turn around, walk back to the chair, and sit down. The TUG has been shown to have good intra-rater and inter-rater reliability and shows concurrent validity when used in unilateral lower-limb amputation populations. Secondly, participants will complete two questionnaires. Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale (ABC-UK) to obtain balance confidence measures. The ABC-UK is a 16-item self-report questionnaire, designed to determine balance confidence levels and associated fear of falling. Participants are asked to rate their level of confidence performing various activities (0-100%). Responses are added together and divided by 16 to give an overall mean balance confidence score. The ABC-UK has been shown to be a suitable tool for detecting loss of balance confidence, is internally consistent, with good test re-test reliability. Questionnaire for persons with a Transfemoral Amputation (Q-TFA) to obtain Quality of Life measures. The Q-TFA is a self-report questionnaire, with four sub-sections; current prosthetic use, prosthetic mobility, problems related to the prosthesis, and overall global health. Sub-sections are scored between 0-100 points, and a calculation (using sub-section scores) determines final Q-TFA score. This tool has been shown to have adequate test-retest reliability, clinical sensibility, criterion validity and internal consistency. Thirdly, participants will undergo balance assessment. Balance measures will be obtained using NeuroCom Balance Manager Dynamic System, SMART EquiTest model, a balance assessment tool which uses Computerised Dynamic Posturography (CDP) to quantify impairments underlying balance problems. CDP has been used in a previous study assessing persons with below-knee amputation. The SMART EquiTest testing functions to be used in this study include sensory organisation test (SOT), motor control test (MCT), and unilateral stance test (UST). SOT identifies the contribution of individual sensory system input cues used to maintain balance control. There are six test conditions; 1) eyes open, fixed surface; 2) eyes closed, fixed surface; 3) sway referenced visual surround, fixed surface; 4) eyes open, sway referenced surface; 5) eyes closed, sway referenced surface; 6) sway referenced visual surround, sway referenced surface. Raw data provides information on amplitude, direction, frequency, and regularity of anterior/posterior sway. MCT measures reactions to rapid translation of the support surface. Raw data provides information on response latency and weight symmetry. UST measures single limb stance ability and associated postural adjustments. Immediately following assessment, participants will have the opportunity to complete a short paper-based feedback survey to identify any problems encountered being involved in this study from their perspective, with an opportunity for participants to provide suggestions to improve the process. Participants can also opt to complete this feedback survey via email. If the participant chooses to receive the feedback in email format, this email will be sent on the same day of testing by the study investigator.