When frozen, roads are very easy to slip on, requiring extreme care not to fall down. For individuals with prosthetic legs, the risk is higher due to an increase in the chances of their knees buckling. Therefore, standing phase stability and the ability to walk securely are absolutely essential in the knee joints of prosthetic legs. By utilizing a six-jointed link structure, we have developed a highly stable prosthetic knee joint. When the heel comes in contact with the ground, this newly developed knee joint flexes, increasing its stability. When the user senses danger, they can choose to lock the knee’s position by themselves.

We studied the effects of physical therapy with an early prescription of a knee-ankle-foot-orthosis (KAFO) on the time course of recovery of walking and stair climbing functions by using functional independence measures (FIM) in hemiplegic patients due to stroke or brain injury. We retrospectively recruited 8 patients with hemiplegia who had been prescribed a KAFO during an acute hospital stay (the KAFO group), and 20 patients who had not been prescribed a KAFO (the non-KAFO group), who were admitted with stroke at the author’/s hospital between June 2010 and May 2013. All patients in the non-KAFO group had characteristics similar to those of the KAFO group during admission : age, length of hospitalization, severity of hemiplegia, the day of admission to the Kaifukuki (convalescent)-rehabilitation ward from stroke onset, walking function, and stair climbing function. We compared the time course of recovery of walking and stair climbing functions between the KAFO and non-KAFO groups by using FIM at admission, mid-duration of the hospital stay, and discharge, from the Kaifukuki-rehabilitation ward. FIM for walking and stair climbing improved progressively in both groups. However, walking function improved earlier in the KAFO group than in the non-KAFO group. Furthermore, the stair climbing function at discharge was significantly better in the KAFO group than in the non-KAFO group. Physical therapy using an early-prescribed KAFO may be effective for improving walking and stair climbing function in post-stroke patients with severe hemiplegia.

Although the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Law has provided payment for myoelectric prosthetic hands for unilateral trans-radial amputees, utilization of this service is not widespread. To promote the diffusion of this service, we considered that it would be effective for medical institutions with core functions to dispatch support personnel to visit the community and provide support. We verified this notion by selecting three unilateral trans-radial amputees in the Chugoku region. We determined the criteria of dispatch, provided administration support, and provided technical support for training in prosthesis wearing to a medical institution with no experience in myoelectric prosthetic hands. As a result of receiving training to wear the prosthesis at the medical institution located in the community where the amputees live, the three subjects became practical users of myoelectric prosthetic hands. Since the fitting training was implemented without problem at the medical institution, the system tested in this study is potentially useful to promote diffusion of myoelectric prosthetic hands for amputees with an indication for this prosthesis.

The i-limb quantum is one of the highly functional myoelectric prostheses. The i-limb hands have eleven joints and the users can move the five fingers independently. We provided occupational therapy to master the i-limb to two transradial amputees. One is a 45-year-old man and another is a 35-year-old woman. The i-limb has various grip patterns which the users can set by themselves. Additionally, the users can rotate the i-limb’s thumb internally and externally on the healthy side, therefore the users can grasp objects of various shapes. The i-limb moves more naturally like a human hand than conventional myoelectric prostheses, and the i-limb does not hold the objects too strongly. The disadvantages of the i-limb are its noisiness and fragility, in the case of rough usage. In order to make full use of the excellent functions of the i-limb, it is important for us to become familiar with its functions and provide the practical occupational therapy on its use.

Studies on ambulation in hip prosthesis users are limited, and as far as we have searched, no study was found that simultaneously recorded joint range of motion (ROM) and electromyography (EMG) activities of the trunk and lower extremities during walking. The purpose of this study was to compare ROM and EMG parameters during level walking of a hip prosthesis user with those of a healthy person. The participants walked 15 steps, and ROM and EMG were recorded with a motion analysis system. As a result, the hip prosthesis user had a prolonged double support phase and trunk muscle activities on the prosthetic side during the swing phase compared with the healthy control. It is suggested that a hip prosthesis user shows a characteristic trend during their walking with regard to walking cycles, trunk and lower extremity ROM and EMG activities.