Tim Pauley, Michael Devlin, Pamela Madan-Sharma
West Park Healthcare Centre, 82 Buttonwood Ave., Toronto, ON, M6M 2J5, Canada. E-mail: tim.pauley@westpark.org
DOI: 10.2340/16501977-1270

Objective: To evaluate hip abductor strength-training for patients with unilateral transfemoral amputation.
Design: Single-blind, cross-over (AB/BA) trial with randomization.
Subjects: Seventeen patients with transfemoral amputation.
Methods: Subjects completed 8-week programs of twice weekly hip abductor strength training or arm ergometry. Subjects were randomly assigned to receive either the experimental or active control intervention first. A physiotherapist blinded to group assignment conducted baseline and post-intervention assessments. The Timed Up & Go (TUG) test was selected as the primary outcome measure; secondary measures included the 2 Minute Walk (2MW), hip abductor strength, Activities Specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC) and prosthetic use. A two-way cross-over ANOVA was used for baseline and post-intervention treatment comparisons.
Results: There were no baseline differences between treatments for TUG, 2MW, ABC, Houghton scale, sitting or side-lying abductor strength (p > 0. 05 for all), though supine strength was greater for the experimental treatment (p < 0. 05). After 8-weeks of hip abductor strength training, there were significant treatment effects for TUG, ABC (p < 0. 01 for both), 2MW (p < 0. 05), sitting and side-lying abductor strength (p = 0. 05 for both), but not for supine strength, prosthetic use, nor thigh girth measures (p > 0. 05 for all).
Conclusions: This study suggests that patients with unilateral transfemoral amputation can improve functional performance and balance confidence following intense hip abductor strength training.