Abstract
Early intervention has become important in rehabilitation for amputees. In the present study, we introduced the “modular socket system” that allows completion of the prosthesis on the same day, and compared the intervals for acquiring prosthetic gait by amputees using prostheses constructed by the conventional method (conventional group) and those using prostheses constructed using the MSS (MSS group). Our results showed that the MSS group acquired prosthetic gait approximately 20 days earlier than the conventional group. The main cause is due to the merit of MSS that enables construction of the prosthesis on site immediately after casting, allowing initiation of gait training early after amputation. In addition, this may also lead to prevention of muscle weakening from disuse and maintenance of amputee’s motivation. The present results indicate that MSS allows early acquisition of prosthetic gait by shortening the time for prosthesis construction, and that introduction of the MSS is useful for transtibial amputees.
