Changes of and interrelationships between performance-based function and gait and patient-reported function 1 year after total hip arthroplasty
Josefine E. Naili,corresponding author1 Margareta Hedström,2,3 and Eva W. Broström1Hip
Background
The aim of this prospective study is to evaluate the degree of improvement in, and interrelationships between, performance-based function, gait, and patient-reported function 1 year after total hip arthroplasty (THA) in patients with primary hip osteoarthritis (OA).
Materials and methods
Thirty-four patients with hip OA, with a mean age of 67 years (standard deviation, SD 9 years), and 25 age- and gender-matched healthy controls performed three performance-based functional tests, instrumented three-dimensional gait analysis, and completed the Hip disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score prior to and 1 year after THA. Effect sizes with 95 % confidence intervals were calculated as measures of the magnitude of improvement in performance after surgery.
Results
Performance-based function displayed large improvements 1 year after THA. Overall gait patterns, quantified using a kinematic and a kinetic gait index, respectively, revealed moderate improvements in kinematics of the operated limb and kinetics of the contralateral limb. Patient-reported function displayed the largest improvement after surgery.
Conclusions
The findings of this study suggest that objectively measured improvements in performance-based function and gait are not in line with patient-reported functional improvements, highlighting the importance of using both subjective and objective methods for evaluating function following THA.
Level of evidence
III.
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