Daily Physical Activity and Heart Rate Response in People With a Unilateral Traumatic Transtibial Amputation
Presented in part to the European Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, May 20, 2006, Madrid, Spain.
Abstract
Bussmann JB, Schrauwen HJ, Stam HJ. Daily physical activity and heart rate response in people with a unilateral traumatic transtibial amputation.
Objectives
To test the hypothesis that people with a unilateral traumatic transtibial amputation are less active than people without an amputation, and to explore whether both groups have a similar heart rate response while walking.
Design
A case-comparison study.
Setting
General community.
Participants
Nine subjects with a unilateral traumatic transtibial amputation and 9 matched subjects without known impairments.
Interventions
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures
Percentage of dynamic activities in 48 hours (expressing activity level). Additionally, we examined heart rate and percentage heart rate reserve during walking (expressing heart rate response) and body motility during walking (expressing walking speed). These parameters were objectively measured at participants’ homes on 2 consecutive days.
Results
Subjects with an amputation showed a lower percentage of dynamic activities (6.0% vs 11.7% in a 48-h period, P=.02). No significant differences were found between the 2 groups in heart rate (91.1bpm vs 89.5bpm, P=.86) and percentage heart rate reserve during walking (28.2% vs 27.5%, P=1.0). Body motility during walking was lower in the amputation group (.14g vs .18g, P<.01).
Conclusions
Our results support our hypothesis that persons with a unilateral traumatic transtibial amputation are considerably less active than persons without known impairments. The results indicate that heart rate response during walking is similar in both groups, and is probably regulated by adapting one’s walking speed.
aDepartment of Rehabilitation Medicine, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands
bRijndam Rehabilitation Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Reprint requests to Johannes B. Bussmann, PhD, Dept of Rehabilitation Medicine, Erasmus Medical Center, PO Box 2040, 3000 CA Rotterdam, The Netherlands
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit upon the authors or upon any organization with which the authors are associated.
ABSTRACT