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Treadmill training with partial body-weight support after total hip arthroplasty: a randomized controlled trial
Hesse S, Werner C, Seibel H, von Frankenberg S, Kappel EM, Kirker S, Kading M
Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2003 Dec;84(12):1767-1773
clinical trial
7/10 [Eligibility criteria: No; Random allocation: Yes; Concealed allocation: Yes; Baseline comparability: Yes; Blind subjects: No; Blind therapists: No; Blind assessors: Yes; Adequate follow-up: Yes; Intention-to-treat analysis: No; Between-group comparisons: Yes; Point estimates and variability: Yes. Note: Eligibility criteria item does not contribute to total score] *This score has been confirmed*

OBJECTIVE: To compare treadmill training with partial body-weight support (TT-BWS) and conventional physical therapy (PT) in ambulatory patients with hip arthroplasty. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Rehabilitation center. PARTICIPANTS: Eighty patients with a fully loadable implant who could walk independently with crutches after unilateral total hip arthroplasty were randomized to receive either TT-BWS (treatment group) or conventional PT (controls), for 10 working days. INTERVENTIONS: Each patient received 45 minutes of individualized PT, either treadmill training plus PT in the experimental or PT alone in the control group. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The Harris score, recorded by blind assessors, served as the primary outcome measure. Secondary outcome measures were the hip extension deficit, gait velocity, gait symmetry, affected hip abductor power; hip abductor amplitude of electromyographic activation; and the interval from surgery to abandoning crutches. RESULTS: At the end of training, the treatment group's Harris score was 13.6 points higher (p < 0.0001) than the control group's score. Further, hip extension deficit was 6.8 degrees less (p < 0.0001), gait symmetry was 10% greater (p = 0.001), affected hip abductor was stronger (Medical Research Council grades 4.24 versus 3.73; p < 0.0001), and the amplitude of gluteus medius activity was 41.5% greater (p = 0.001) than those measures for controls. Gait velocity did not differ in the 2 groups. These significant differences in favor of the treatment group persisted at 3 and 12 months. The treatment group abandoned crutches sooner than the control group (3 versus 8 wk). In the treatment group, 39 patients finished treatment, 35 appeared at 3, and 26 at 12 months for follow-up. In the control group, the corresponding numbers were 40, 35, and 24 patients, respectively. CONCLUSION: TT-BWS is more effective than conventional PT at restoring symmetrical independent walking after hip replacement.

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