A prospective study was conducted to compare the effect of an anterolateral approach in the supine position (ALS) with that of a direct lateral (DL) approach on gait motion, including trunk deflection, in walking after total hip arthroplasty. We hypothesized that trunk deflection in walking after ALS would be significantly improved in comparison with use of the DL approach.
The subjects were 15 patients, with 7 in the ALS group and 8 in the DL group. Walking before and 9 and 28 weeks after surgery was analyzed using 3-dimensional motion analysis.
Walking velocity, stride length, hip joint range of motion in the sagittal plane in walking, and locomotion range of trunk inclination were significantly improved 28 weeks after surgery in both groups. In gait analysis, there were no significant differences between the 2 groups.
This study was conducted to compare the effect of ALS with that of a DL approach on locomotion in walking after total hip arthroplasty. Hip pain at 9 weeks after surgery was significantly improved using ALS compared to the DL approach, but there were no significant differences in gait function at 28 weeks after surgery using ALS or DL approach. Further long-term studies are required to examine differences between these procedures.