Children and adolescents with congenital limb deficiencies are visibly and physically different from their peers. They present limitations in activities, depending on the severity of deficiency. Therefore they are at risk for lower participation in social and leisure activities. This might negatively influence the perception on their quality of life. The aim of this narrative review is to describe participation and quality of life in children with congenital limb deficiencies. Participation and quality of life are relatively new concepts. Psychosocial functioning, being closely related to the concept of quality of life, is described as well. A comprehensive review of the literature was conducted on participation, quality of life and psychosocial functioning in children and adolescents with congenital limb deficiencies. The review involved a systematic search using multiple data sources. Fifteen cross-sectional studies were included in this review. The literature to date provides limited knowledge on how children and adolescents with congenital limb deficiencies participate and how they perceive their quality of life. The psychosocial functioning, although described as at risk, appears to be comparable to healthy peers. In conclusion, more research is needed on how children and adolescents with congenital limb deficiencies participate and how they perceive their quality of life. A broader perspective will not only help parents in making the right choices for their children, but can also have implications for health care providers, teachers and agencies funding rehabilitation services.

While the participation and perceived health-related quality of life of Dutch children with lower limb deficiencies do not differ from those among typically developing children, the participation of adolescents with lower limb deficiencies is characterized by less diversity, with less interaction in social and skill-based activities.

Background: Children with lower limb prostheses cannot always keep up with their peers during active play. A pediatric crossover foot may be a promising prosthetic alternative for children engaging in high-intensity movements necessary for active play. Objectives: To compare children’s walking performance, running performance, experienced competence, and cosmesis using their prescribed prosthesis compared with the crossover foot. Study Design: Pretest-posttest study. Methods: Children with lower limb amputation or deficiency were recruited. Measurements were taken at baseline with the prescribed prosthesis and 6 weeks later with the crossover foot. Walking speed, energy cost of walking, anaerobic muscle power, stair climbing speed, ankle power, and cosmesis were evaluated. Results: Four children participated in the study. Two children had increased walking speed with the same energy cost, one child had decreased speed with increased energy cost, and one child had the same speed with decreased energy cost. Muscle power increased for three of the four children and ankle power increased for all children while using the crossover foot compared to the prescribed prosthesis. Two children reported knee pain or feeling excessive knee flexion when running with the crossover foot. One child reported negative feelings toward cosmesis of the crossover foot. Conclusions: This study suggests crossover foot may benefit active children by improving walking and running performance, and decreasing energy cost. However, knee pain reports or negative feelings toward the atypical design suggest the crossover foot may not be ideal for every child. Further research is needed to determine which pediatric users would benefit from this type of prosthetic foot. Clinical relevance Children with lower limb deficiencies are active prosthetic users who often switch between low- and high-intensity movements in their daily activities. Therefore, they might benefit from a crossover prosthetic design. The preliminary findings of this study suggest the crossover foot (XF) may be a promising foot for active children.

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PURPOSE: The primary aim was to describe sports participation of Dutch children and adolescents with lower limb deficiencies (LLD). The secondary aim was to explore perceived limitations concerning sports participation. METHODS: A total of 103 children and adolescents with LLD, aged 8–18 years (mean 11.7 years), were asked about their sports participation using a study-specific self-report questionnaire. RESULTS: Children and adolescents with LLD frequently (78%) participated in sports activities, and most of them (68%) participated in the sport of their preference. Just over half of all children (52%) perceived an inability to participate in specific sports. Physical performance (running) and endurance were mentioned as the most limiting factors in participating in certain sports. CONCLUSION: Children and adolescents with LLD in the Netherlands participate in a variety of sports. Despite dependency on lower limb prostheses in most cases, children and adolescents with LLD have a high potentiality of participating in sports.