Normative ground reaction force data for able-bodied and below-knee-amputee children during walking.

We determined normative ground reaction force data for able-bodied (AB) and below-knee-amputee (BKA) children during walking. Twenty-two BKA and 225 able-bodied children walked over two adjacent force platforms. Average normalized force-time curves were determined for legs of the children for subjective comparisons, and discrete variables were determined for statistical comparisons. No significant differences existed between (a) right and left legs, (b) gender, and (c) age for the AB children. BKA children had an asymmetrical gait pattern with a dominant role of the nonprosthetic limb. This dominant role was related to a greater rate of loading, magnitude of loading, impulse, and time of loading as compared with prosthetic limbs and with the limbs of AB children.