Abstract
Foucher KC, Thorp LE, Orozco D, Hildebrand M, Wimmer MA. Differences in preferred
walking speeds in a gait laboratory compared with the real world after total hip replacement.
Objective
To evaluate the relation between walking speeds measured in a gait laboratory and
those measured in real-world settings (habitual speed) in subjects with total hip
replacements (THRs) and control subjects. The secondary objective is to determine
whether the relationship between gait laboratory and habitual speeds was affected
by recovery time or related to clinical indices.
Design
Cohort study.
Setting
Academic medical center.
Participants
Experimental subjects (n=26) evaluated 3 weeks and 12 months after THR and control
subjects (n=24).
Interventions
None.
Main Outcome Measures
Walking speed measured in the gait laboratory, walking speed measured in the field
by using activity monitors, Harris Hip Score (HHS), and the Western Ontario and McMaster
Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC).
Results
Laboratory speeds were significantly faster than habitual speeds in all groups (P<.001), but the 2 correlated significantly. The laboratory versus habitual-speed difference
was unaffected by recovery time within the THR group (P=.180) but was larger for control subjects (.32±.21m/s) than for THR subjects (.19±.15m/s
1 year after surgery). Habitual speed significantly correlated with total WOMAC scores
and with WOMAC stiffness and function subscores 3 weeks after THR. The HHS weakly
correlated with 3-week laboratory speed. No speed and clinical correlations were seen
1 year after THR.
Conclusions
Although subjects may exaggerate walking speeds in laboratory settings, laboratory-based
data accurately reflect real-world activity. Setting affected speeds most in the control
group. It is important to consider potential discrepancies between speeds walked in
a laboratory versus in the real world when interpreting gait studies comparing 2 or
more populations. Finally, analysis of these data suggests that clinical indices may
more accurately reflect biomechanical function during early recovery after THR than
after full recovery.
Key Words
List of Abbreviations:
HHS (Harris Hip Score), THR (total hip replacement), WOMAC (Western Ontario and McMaster Osteoarthritis Index)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Footnotes
Supported by the Promotion of Doctoral Studies Award from the Foundation for Physical Therapy; Zimmer Germany and Martin-Luther-Universität Halle Wittenberg.
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.
Identification
Copyright
© 2010 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
