# Effect of Prosthetic Foot-Ankle Stiffness on Standing and Walking Performance in Transfemoral Prosthesis Users

> **NIH VA I01** · JESSE BROWN VA MEDICAL CENTER · 2023 · —

## Abstract

The anatomical foot and ankle joint provide important functions during gait, so fitting lower-limb prosthesis users
with components that replicate these functions is rational and desirable. However, it is not currently known how
to best combine and tune prosthetic foot and ankle stiffness to enhance a prosthesis user’s walking and standing
performance simultaneously. Furthermore, altering prosthetic foot-ankle stiffness could adversely affect
prosthetic knee stability in transfemoral prosthesis users. Therefore, we propose to systematically vary the
stiffness of the prosthetic foot and ankle joint combination in transfemoral prosthesis users to help establish
prescription guidelines for prosthetists to consider when fitting prosthetic ankle units with prosthetic feet. The
Veterans Health Administration (VHA) reported that between 1989-1998, 29% of amputations were performed
at the transfemoral level. This emphasizes the strong relevance and potentially high impact of this research study
on current Veterans, which is directly applicable to the VHA’s Patient Care Mission.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10535637
- **Project number:** 1I01RX003768-01A2
- **Recipient organization:** JESSE BROWN VA MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Steven A. Gard
- **Activity code:** I01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-10-01 → 2025-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10535637

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10535637, Effect of Prosthetic Foot-Ankle Stiffness on Standing and Walking Performance in Transfemoral Prosthesis Users (1I01RX003768-01A2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10535637. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*