Article

Crutch use is prescribed early in the rehabilitation process
following total hip replacement (THR) surgery to improve safety and promote
return to active living.
Purpose of this study was to
understand mid-term effects of crutch length setup on quiet standing and walking
two months post-op when crutch use was no longer required. METHODS: Thirty
patients were evaluated 2 months post-surgery when they had been walking without
crutch for a month. The patients had previously been assigned randomly to elbow
flexed (EF) or elbow extended (EE) crutch set-ups and evaluated 3 days
post-surgery. Quiet standing stability was assessed with participants standing in
a comfortable position with each foot on separated force platforms, facing
forward for 10s. In addition, participants walked on the laboratory path,
instrumented with motion tracking system and force platforms. For the quiet
standing trial, centre of pressure measure, acromial height and lower limbs load
bearing symmetry were evaluated. For the walking trial, spatiotemporal and ground
reaction force (GRF) parameters were evaluated together with side symmetry
indices. RESULTS: Results showed no significant differences in any standing trial
variables between groups. For walking, GRF parameters and symmetry indices were
similar for both groups. However, increased base of support width, reduced
self-selected walking speed and stride length were found for the EF group.
SIGNIFICANCE: This study showed that crutch set-up influenced gait after patients
started to walk unassisted. Patients that previously used crutch adjusted
according to the EE setup, demonstrated a more efficient gait with higher
self-selected speed and longer and narrower stride.
Clinicians may use these
results for a proper crutch height adjustment, which improves walking and, in turn, functional recovery in post THR patients.
CI - Copyright (c) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS