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  • Re: amputee running/cycling

    Hello All, This is a very interesting and lively
    discussion about technology in sports and in
    particular how prosthetic technology fits into
    the world of athletics. There is some very
    pertinent work currently being done by a
    colleague of mine here (Mindy Millard-Stafford
    and her doctoral student, Beth Brown) along with
    a recent graduate of our MS in Prosthetics and
    Orthotics program (Andy Allison). They have
    recruited elite amputee long distance runners and
    measured their metabolic cost and economy with
    different prostheses and compared to able-bodied
    controls--an abstract from Beth Brown follows
    below.

    Although it is true that not all athletes will
    have access to this technology--I'm sure no
    sprinter would be willing to lose a limb to be
    able to use one of these prostheses--I think we
    may be giving too much credit to the technology
    and perhaps not enough to the athlete who has
    overcome severe physical and social obstacles to
    perform at these levels.

    ***PLEASE DIRECT ALL INQUIRES REGARDING THIS
    RESEARCH TO MS. BETH BROWN
    ***

    >Date: Mon, 04 Jun 2007 18:07:08 -0400
    >From: Beth Brown
    >To: Young-Hui Chang
    >Subject: Re: Fwd: amputee running/cycling
    >
    >Recent work in the exercise physiology lab in the School of Applied Physiology
    >at Georgia Tech addresses the question of possible advantage provided by a
    >running prosthesis from a metabolic perspective.
    >Six highly trained unilateral
    >(n=5) and bilateral (n=1) transtibial amputee runners and six matched non-
    >amputee runners were studied during an incremental treadmill running test.
    >Running economy was slightly but non-significantly lower for the amputees
    >running in their running-specific prosthesis at speeds between 5-8 mph.
    >However, when running using their non-running-specific prosthesis (“walking
    >leg”), amputees had a significantly lower running economy than their non-
    >amputee counterparts. Interestingly, in their running-specific prosthesis,
    >amputees were also able to achieve similar peak VO2, peak blood lactate, and
    >peak treadmill speed values compared to their non-amputee counterparts. While
    >the running-specific prosthesis provides a clear metabolic advantage over the
    >use of a non-running specific prosthesis, it
    >does not provide amputee runners a
    >metabolic advantage over non-amputee runners. This unpublished data is
    >presented in the American College of Sports Medicine’s (ACSM) 2007 Annual
    >Meeting abstracts.
    >
    >Thanks!
    >
    >Beth
    >
    >--
    >Mary Beth Brown, MSPT,ATC
    >404-713-1697


    --

    *****************************************
    Young-Hui Chang, Ph.D.
    (FYI: it's pronounced "young-hee")
    Assistant Professor
    Comparative Neuromechanics Laboratory
    School of Applied Physiology
    Biomedical Engineering and BioEngineering Programs

    Mailing Address:
    Young-Hui Chang
    School of Applied Physiology
    Georgia Institute of Technology
    281 Ferst Drive
    Atlanta, GA 30332-0356
    U.S.A.

    404-894-9993 (office)
    404-385-6489 (lab)
    404-894-9982 (fax)

    http://www.ap.gatech.edu/chang/CNLhome.html

    ** "learning how we get from here to there" **
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