Bilateral proprioceptive changes in athlete and non-athlete amputees with unilateral below-knee amputation

Background & The definitive loss of a body segment and its somatosensory afferents can profoundly affect the internal body representation، requiring adaptation to restore sensorimotor function. The purposes of the study were: (1) To compare knee proprioception of amputated leg of athlete amputees with non-athlete amputees، (2) To compare knee proprioception of sound leg with amputated leg in athleteand non-athlete amputees، and (3) To compare knee proprioception of amputated and sound leg of amputees with healthy men. Methods & Materials: 8 athlete amputees (46. 38 2. 77 year)، 6 non-athlete amputees (47. 8 6. 06 year) and 8 healthy men (46. 75 2. 61) participated. Knee joint position sense evaluated through active repositioning (45˚ of knee flexion) using an electrogoniometer and force sense evaluated through reproduction of target force (50% of maximum isometric voluntary contraction) using a dynamometer. All data analyzed using t-test and One-way analysis of variance. Non-athlete amputees had lessaccuracy in active repositioning than athlete amputees and control group in amputated leg (p<0. 05). There is no significant difference between non-athlete and athlete amputees in absolute error of force reproduction in both feet and also there is no significant difference between sound leg and amputated leg in both groups (p>0. 05). The results suggest exercise can improve joint position sense in amputees. No significant difference in proprioception of sound and amputated leg neither athlete amputees nor non-athlete amputees could be due to reorganization of the motor and sensory cortex after amputation. It is recommended more investigation on the subject according to the importance of proprioception in motor control and gait of amputees and differences in properioception and force sense results.