It is important to understand the characteristics of amputee gait to develop more advanced prostheses. The aim of this study was quantitatively to analyze the stair climbing task for the above-knee amputee with a prosthesis and to predict muscle forces and joint moments at musculoskeletal joints by dynamic analysis. The three-dimensional musculoskeletal model of lower extremities was constructed by gait analysis and transformation software for one above-knee amputee and ten healthy people. The measured ground reaction forces and kinematical data of each joint by gait analysis were used as input data during inverse dynamic analysis. Lastly, dynamic analysis of above-knee amputee during stair climbing were performed using musculoskeletal models. The results showed that summed muscle forces of hip extensor of amputated leg were greater than those of sound leg but the opposite results were revealed at hip abductor and knee flexor of amputated leg. We could also find that the higher moments at hip and knee joint of sound leg were needed to overcome the flexion moment caused by body weight and amputated leg. In conclusion, dynamic analysis using musculoskeletal models may be a useful mean to predict muscle forces and joint moments for specific motion tasks related to rehabilitation therapy.
