Article

The purpose of this study was to investigate the pattern and variability of
inter-joint coordination for both surgical and non-surgical limbs during walking
in patients before and after total hip arthroplasty (THA). Gait analysis of THA
patients (n=20) and age-matched controls (n=10) was performed. THA patients were
tested at pre-surgery, 6-week and 16-week post surgery. Continuous relative phase
(CRP) was used to assess the inter-joint coordination pattern and variability.
Variability of coordination for each subject was calculated over a gait cycle
with the deviation phase (DP). Between-subject group differences in CRP patterns
were examined with cross-correlation measures and root-mean-square (RMS)
differences. The surgical limb demonstrated significantly higher DP values
comparing to the controls at pre-surgery. Compared to pre-surgery, significant
time effects on THA patients were detected in hip-knee DP values at 16-week post
surgery for both limbs, and in knee-ankle DP values at 16-week post surgery for
the surgical limb. RMS differences for hip-knee and knee-ankle CRP decreased
gradually after surgery for both limbs. Cross-correlation measures were overall
strong for CRP patterns of both limbs, with r(2) values greater than 0.94. Our
results suggested that both hip-knee and knee-ankle coordination, especially the
surgical limb, were altered with a higher variability to compromise the
deteriorated hip joint. Asymmetric changes in accommodations and variability of
bilateral lower extremities may contribute to the residual gait problems observed
in THA patients. Therefore, clinical efforts may exert to improve the inter-joint
coordination in this population.
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Langue : ANGLAIS