Use the Back button in your browser to see the other results of your search or to select another record.
Altering asymmetric limb loading after hip arthroplasty using real-time dynamic feedback when walking |
White SC, Lifeso RM |
Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2005 Oct;86(10):1958-1963 |
clinical trial |
4/10 [Eligibility criteria: No; Random allocation: Yes; Concealed allocation: No; Baseline comparability: Yes; Blind subjects: No; Blind therapists: No; Blind assessors: No; Adequate follow-up: No; 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 evaluate a walking program incorporating real-time biofeedback to reduce asymmetric limb loading after total hip arthroplasty (THA). DESIGN: Within-subject clinical intervention. SETTING: Biomechanics laboratory. PARTICIPANTS: Volunteers were screened for confounding disorders that could affect their gait other than unilateral THA. Participants included 28 subjects who were evaluated a minimum of 2 months after surgery and ambulatory without assistive devices. INTERVENTIONS: THA subjects were assigned to a feedback, no-feedback, or control group. The feedback group walked on a treadmill 15 minutes, 3 times a week for 8 weeks while matching step-to-step reaction forces. Subjects walking without feedback had equal time. The control group did not train. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Symmetry indices for peak limb-loading force, rate of rise of loading force, and impulse calculated from vertical foot-ground forces. Symmetry index changes were evaluated using 2-factor, repeated-measures analyses of variance with a Tukey post hoc test. RESULTS: Loading rate and impulse equalization improved for the feedback group (p < 0.01). Loading rate equalization improved for the no-feedback group (p = 0.01). There were no changes for the control group. CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary study suggests that a treadmill walking program may help persons with a THA achieve a more symmetric gait. Additional investigation of the potential benefits of a rehabilitation program incorporating treadmill walking with and without biofeedback is recommended.
|