Components of Prosthetic Lower Limbs for Transfemoral and Transtibial Amputations: General Prescription Recommendations and Literature Review

The most common levels of amputation are transfemoral and transtibial. Although there are a variety of prosthetic components, prescription criteria are based on subjective experience of physiatrists. Professionals who work outside of large medical centres with less experience in the prescription of prosthetic limbs have difficulty in the choice of components which depend, in many cases, exclusively on the recommendations of manufacturers of the components. The aims of this article are to evaluate current evidence on the characteristics of lower limb prosthetic components (i.e. socket, liner, suspension mechanism, knee and feet) that could influence prescription for adult transfemoral and transtibial amputations and describe the authors principles of prescription. This search strategy found 1401 articles which were reviewed by independently by two different researchers, and 37 articles were included. The authors found who although there are well developed studies on the technological development of prosthetic components, clinical research is scarce. Clinical decisions on component prescription cannot be supported by evidence-based studies and depends upon clinical experience.