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Regional Differences In Pain Threshold And Tolerance Of The Transtibial Residual Limb: Including The Effects Of Age And Interface Material, Winson Lee, Ming Zhang, Arthur F. Mak

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

OBJECTIVES: To compare the pain threshold (the minimum pressure inducing pain) and pain tolerance (the maximum tolerable pressure) of different regions of the residual limbs of amputees by the indentation method and to evaluate the interface pressure distribution and distortion of the skin surface on indentation by finite element (FE) analysis. DESIGN: Crossover trial. SETTING: Rehabilitation engineering center. PARTICIPANTS: Eight transtibial amputees for indentation test and 1 for FE analysis. INTERVENTIONS: The load applied to the residual limbs using a Pelite or polypropylene indenter attached to a force transducer was increased until subjects could no longer tolerate the load. An …