Colgan 2016
Colgan 2016
                                                                Journal of Orthopaedics
                                                       journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jor
Original Article
Gait analysis and hip extensor function early post total hip
replacement
Grainne Colgan a,*, Mike Walsh b, Damien Bennett b, John Rice a, Timothy OBrien b
a
    AMNCH, Tallaght, Dublin 24, Ireland
b
    Central Remedial Clinic, Clontarf, Dublin 3, Ireland
A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T
Article history:                                           Objective: The purpose of this study was to systematically evaluate the sagittal kinematic and kinetic gait
Received 20 January 2016                                   patterns in patients in this early post-operative period, to describe them and to better understand the
Accepted 6 March 2016                                      deciencies in that gait pattern that may help to develop targeted rehabilitation strategies.
Available online
                                                           Methods: This study evaluated early gait patterns in 10 patients with isolated unilateral hip
                                                           osteoarthritis who were post-operative for total hip replacement. Kinetic and kinematic assessments
Keywords:                                                   focusing on sagittal plane abnormalities  were performed at 2 weeks pre-operatively and 8 weeks
Gait analysis
                                                           post-operatively.
Orthopaedics
Hip replacement
                                                           Results: Our results demonstrated that while clinical scoring for pain and functional ability signicantly
Post-operative                                             improved post-operatively, as did clinical assessment of range of motion passively, this did not translate
                                                           to the degree of dynamic improvement in gait. Step length and stride length did not improve
                                                           signicantly. Lack of hip extension in terminal stance associated with excessive anterior pelvic tilt
                                                           persisted and was associated with a worsening in hip extensor power post-operatively.
                                                           Conclusion: Based on our results, post-operative rehabilitation programmes should include extensor
                                                           muscle exercises to increase power and to retain the operative gain in passive range of motion, which
                                                           would help to improve gait patterns.
                                                            2016 Prof. PK Surendran Memorial Education Foundation. Published by Elsevier, a division of Reed
                                                                                                                         Elsevier India, Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction                                                                           hip exion contractures, with resultant loss of hip extension, have
                                                                                          been shown to recur up to 1 year after total hip replacement, and is
   Osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip causes alteration in normal                             probably due to a combination of factors, e.g. persistent muscle
kinematic patterns  particularly in the sagittal plane.1,6,7,9 This                      weakness, scar tissue formation and learned gait patterns though
may be primarily due to pain, a decreased range of motion because                         the exact pathogenesis is unknown.10,11,29 Recent outcome studies
of contractures or a combination of both. Total hip replacement                           have shown that post-operative range of hip motion correlates
surgery (THR) is one of the most successful surgeries, and provides                       strongly with functional outcome.35,36 The purpose of this study
symptomatic relief for patients with painful osteoarthritis.24                           was to systematically evaluate the sagittal kinematic and kinetic
Despite this huge gain in functional ability and a subjective                             gait patterns in patients in this early post-operative period, to
improvement in walking ability, gait patterns in patients                                 describe them and to better understand the deciencies in that gait
undergoing THR improve, but rarely achieve normality.57,10 Many                          pattern that may help to develop targeted rehabilitation strategies.
gait analysis studies have shown that gait patterns remain
abnormal in the long term and are comparable to pre-operative                             2. Methods
gait.9,12,1719 Foucher et al. demonstrated that pre-operative gait
parameters were strong predictors of some post-operative gait                             2.1. Patient selection and procedure
parameters.8 Range of motion was improved following THR, but in
many cases remained less than normal. It is important to note that                           Inclusion criteria for the study were patients with isolated
                                                                                          unilateral painful hip osteoarthritis, with no signicant medical
                                                                                          problems (ASA grade I & II) who were awaiting a total hip
    * Corresponding author. Tel.: +353 877720822.                                         replacement in Adelaide and Meath, incorporating the National
      E-mail address: gcolgan@rcsi.ie (G. Colgan).                                        Childrens Hospital (AMNCH) Tallaght.32,34 Exclusion criteria
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jor.2016.03.005
0972-978X/ 2016 Prof. PK Surendran Memorial Education Foundation. Published by Elsevier, a division of Reed Elsevier India, Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved.
172                                          G. Colgan et al. / Journal of Orthopaedics 13 (2016) 171176
13.0. P values <0.05 were considered signicant.                              P < .05 with 95% CI.
                                                      G. Colgan et al. / Journal of Orthopaedics 13 (2016) 171176                                               173
Table 4
Analysis of temperospatial parameters affected hip.
Table 5
Comparative analysis of temperospatial parameters.
Pre-operative Post-operative
Affected side Unaffected side P value Affected side Unaffected side P value
Table 6
Summary gait kinematic and kinetic parameters pre- and post-operatively affected hip.
Normal Pre operative mean Post operative mean Change in mean P value*
 Maximum anterior pelvic tilt (8)             9.21                20.08                           16.62                              3.83                   .07
 Minimum anterior pelvic tilt (8)             4.4                 11                               7.75                              3.25                   .12
 Pelvic tilt range                            4.8                  9.08                            8.50                              0.58                   .68
 Max hip exion (8)                          33.4                 34.85                           29.21                              5.64                   .08
 Max hip extension in stance (8)              8.95                13.21                            0.49                             12.72                  <.001a
 Hip range                                   42.4                 21.63                           29.42                              7.79                  <.001a
 Max hip extensor power (W/kg)                0.96                 0.4761                          0.32                              0.14                   .3
 Max hip exor power (W/kg)                   0.92                 0.32                            0.47                              0.15                   .1
 Knee exion (8)                             64.6                 55.55                           53.31                              2.24                   .59
 Knee extension (8)                           0.84                 0.29                            4.34                              4.62                  <.001a
 Knee range                                  65.4                 55.26                           57.65                              2.38                   .46
 Ankle dorsiexion (8)                       13.87                14.45                           14.09                              0.36                   .9
 Ankle plantarexion (8)                     24.25                16.35                           16.25                              0.1                    .92
 Ankle range                                 38.12                30.8                            30.35                              0.55                   .88
The italic values represent the numerical difference between the pre- and post-operative mean.
  *
    P-value is pre- compared to post-operative results.
  a
    Signicant difference <.05 between pre- and post-operative mean.
improvement in all variables post-operatively, this was not                            clinical improvement in passive hip extension and resolution of the
statistically signicant (Table 4). Step length can vary between                       FFD. Excessive anterior tilt also improved post-operatively but was
affected and unaffected side, i.e. with an antalgic gait. However,                     still abnormal (16.628)  reecting the persistent lack of hip
symmetry ratio of step length between affected and unaffected                          extension post-operatively. Kinetic assessment showed that while
side showed no differences pre- or post-operatively (Table 5)                          hip extension improved overall post-operatively, hip extensor power
though the percentage stance duration was signicantly higher for                      did not improve. In fact, hip extensor power dis-improved during
the unaffected limb pre-operatively (63.7 versus 60.42, p = 0.022).                    early stance compared to pre-operative measures (Figs. 1 and 2).
There was modest improvement in single limb support post-
operatively on the affected side (36.3% versus 37.76%), but there                      4. Discussion
was still a statistically signicant difference between the affected
and unaffected limb for percentage stance (59.84% versus 62.24%,                          Many studies have evaluated and described the persisting
p = 0.016), and percentage single limb support (37.76% versus                          abnormalities in gait patterns at up to two years post-operatively.
40.16%, p = 0.016), indicating residual asymmetry between the                          The purpose of this study was to evaluate gait patterns and muscle
limbs despite clinical improvement in pain.                                            function in the very early post-operative period in an attempt to
                                                                                       compare clinical assessment with objective gait analysis param-
3.5. Gait kinematics & kinetics                                                        eters. Eight weeks were chosen as this was the earliest period that
                                                                                       patients were likely to be walking without the use of crutches or
   The key kinematic and kinetic data is summarized in Table 6, and                    post-operative analgesics, which could have altered results.
relevant graphs are shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The most signicant pre-                      This study demonstrated a clinical improvement in range of
operative nding was lack of hip extension and excessive anterior                      motion in the affected hip in all planes eight weeks post-operatively,
pelvic tilt seen in terminal stance and pre-swing phases. While there                  but this improvement had not carried over into walking ability. All
was improvement post-operatively in sagittal hip kinematics in                         patients improved subjectively and objectively based on SF-36v2
terms of hip extension and hip range of motion, there was still a                      and HHS. Clinically, eight out of ten patients post-operatively
relative lack of hip extension in terminal stance (0.498), despite a                   had complete elimination of pain, and a statistically signicant
174                                                   G. Colgan et al. / Journal of Orthopaedics 13 (2016) 171176
Fig. 1. Ensemble averages for pre-operative sagittal hip and pelvis kinematics and hip extensor moment and power in affected hip.  Ensemble averages.  Max/mon for
dataset. CRC Laboratory normal database results.
improvement in extension of the affected hip, yet the abnormality of                       Our ndings also reect those of other studies in terms of lack of
lack of hip extension persisted post-operatively during walking. This                  hip extension. Perron et al. suggested that the lack of hip extension
was associated with an increase in anterior pelvic tilt.                               was due to a decrease in step length, and was a learned pattern of
   In an antalgic gait, the patient classically tries to minimize the                  gait, rather than due to a weakness of hip extensor muscles, but
amount of weight applied to the painful hip and the amount of time                     they did not assess clinical hip range of motion.1 Crosbie showed
that weight is applied. The result is a limp, a decreased single support               that lack of hip extension in walking correlated with lack of clinical
time for the affected limb, a shortened step length for the                            range of motion and was speed-dependent.15 Hurwitz et al.
contralateral limb and an increased double support time. Calve                         showed decreased hip extensor moments associated with pain in
et al. proposed that this mechanism avoided stretching the joint                       patients with osteoarthritis rather than gait speed or dynamic hip
capsule and thus prevented pain.14 In keeping with other studies of                    range of motion. The authors felt that reduced moments reect
early gait following THR, this lack of terminal hip extension in late                  decreased muscle forces and decreased loads on the femoral
stance was associated with a decrease in hip extensor power and                        head in the absence of increased antagonistic muscle activity and
exor moments of force and a decrease in the energy developed at                       thus may be a pain-avoidance mechanism. However, they also
the hip in the sagittal plane during push-off despite subjective                       demonstrated asymmetry in step length.30 In contrast, this study
improvement in symptoms.10,11,22,26,27,29,30 Though this may be a                      found that despite a failure to extend the hip on the affected side
learned protective mechanism of the hip, it implies that pain is not                   during walking, there was no difference in step length, and no
the only factor affecting extension ability. The fact that hip extensor                difference in symmetry ratio between the affected and unaffected
power actually decreased post-operatively despite improvement in                       side pre- and post-operatively. Assessment of temperospatial
both clinical range of motion and pain is important as it is potentially               parameters showed no statistical differences between the affected
overlooked during routine post-operative assessment. Many phys-                        and unaffected side pre- or post-operatively for velocity, step
iotherapy rehabilitation programmes focus on coronal muscle                            length or cadence; however, the values were less compared to
strengthening i.e. abductor function but do not assess sagittal range                  normative data.2325,27,28 Though all parameters improved post-
and strength. Hip exion contractures have been shown to recur up                      operatively, the differences were not statistically signicant. This
to 1 year after surgery and are probably due to a combination of                       indicates a degree of symmetry between the limbs  however,
factors e.g. persistent muscle weakness, learned gait patterns and                     there was a statistically signicant difference in percentage stance
scar tissue formation etc.10,11,21,29 Our study patients demonstrated                  time between the limbs both pre- and post-operatively. This
a persistent lack of hip extension during dynamic gait coupled with                    residual antalgic gait may be an avoidance mechanism to reduce
worsened hip extensor power post-operatively and we suggest this                       loading of the affected side, which persisted post-operatively
may be a possible the mechanism by which these contractures recur.                     despite resolution of pain and increased range of motion. Bennett
                                                      G. Colgan et al. / Journal of Orthopaedics 13 (2016) 171176                                                       175
Fig. 2. Ensemble averages for post-operative sagittal hip and pelvis kinematic and hip extensor moment and power in affected hip.  Ensemble averages.  Max/mon for
dataset. CRC Laboratory normal database results. Ensemble average kinematic gait cycle overlaid on normal band. Horizontal axis: percentage of gait cycle. 0 = initial
contact; 060 = stance phase; 60 = push-off; 60100 = swing phase.
et al. suggested that the range of motion in the unaffected hip may                    feel that the results obtained from this detailed study can be
be effectively reduced to maintain symmetry and improve walking                        condently attributed to the hip pathology. Our results suggest
ability.16                                                                             that gait patterns remain persistently abnormal post-operatively
    Our patients were re-assessed at 8 weeks post-operatively,                         despite relatively normal clinical ranges of motion. This area
which is earlier than most studies. It has been shown that gait                        requires further study to develop early post-operative rehabilita-
parameters improve for up to 1 year post-operatively, so it is not                     tion programmes  focusing on hip extensor power and gait
surprising that the abnormality of slower speed and decreased step                     training rather than traditional hip range of motion and stretching.
length were still present post-operatively.17,18,23 McCrory et al.
found that magnitude of peak hip forces was signicantly less in the                   Ethical approval
operated hip following THR, as was loading rate, impulse and stance
time, i.e. patients favoured their affected limb by avoidance of                      Ethical approval for the study was obtained from the Research
weight acceptance, despite being pain-free, they displayed features                    Ethics Committee of St James Hospital and the AMNCH, Tallaght.
of residual antalgic gait.20 They commented that the persisting
asymmetric limb loading after THR may be benecial in reducing the
                                                                                       Funding
biomechanical load on the prosthesis.27 In contrast, Shakoor et al.
suggested that biomechanical asymmetry post-operatively was
                                                                                           There was no source of external funding.
disadvantageous. They demonstrated persistent asymmetry of limb
loading in patients up to 2 years post THR  specically noting a
higher peak external knee adduction moment, and peak medial                            Conicts of interest
compartment moment in the contralateral knee, which persisted
after surgery. They proposed this as the mechanism for which                               The authors have none to declare.
patients who undergo unilateral THR for OA are more likely to
require a contralateral Total Knee Replacement in the future.31                        References
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