OrthoRaMS – Ryan Wedge, Phd, PT

Presented by Ryan Wedge, PhD, PT, Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at East Carolina University in the College of Allied Health Sciences.

“Determinants of Preferred Walking Patterns and Effects of Symmetric Walking on Metabolic Energy Expenditure and Joint Loading”

Preferred walking patterns result from multiple objectives, and symmetric gait is a hallmark of able-bodied gait, yet prosthesis users walk asymmetrically. For prosthesis users, asymmetric walking may lead to lower metabolic energy expenditure than symmetric walking but could come at the cost of increased joint loading and fall risk. Asymmetric walking for able-bodied people may lead to an increased fall risk and joint loading as well. Beyond energy expenditure and mechanics for prosthesis users, resilience and embodiment of a prosthesis may also influence preferred walking patterns. In this talk, I will present laboratory and clinical data that show these relationships and discuss future experiments that aim to increase prosthesis use and function for individuals with lower extremity amputation and understand the role of asymmetric gait in able-bodied individuals.

• Wedge_OrthoRaMS_flyer.pdf