Assessment of Hip Joint Function and Limb Load in Patients after Cementless Hip Arthroplasty During 14-day Rehabilitation

Abstract

Background Arthoplasty is a surgical procedure consisting in replacing a natural joint altered by the disease process with an artificial joint. This surgery allows you to restore the lost function of the hip joint. Comprehensive rehabilitation plays an essential role after surgery. Objectives The aim of the study was to assess the impact of rehabilitation on patients on the 1st and 14th day of rehabilitation after cementless hip arthroplasty on the load on the operated limb and to assess the function of the hip joint. Material and methods The studies were performed on a group of 44 patients with post-surgery rehabilitation.The studies were performed twice: on the 1st and 14th day of rehabilitation. The standardized questionnaires was used: Harris Hip Score and WOMAC. The reaction of ground forces was assessed using the Alpha stabilometric platform. Results The average point value indicated on the Harris Scale significantly increased in the measurement on the 14th day of rehabilitation by 8.57 ± 6.56 points (p < 0.001). On the other hand, the WOMAC Scale showed a decrease in point values in the second measurement by 9.67 ± 6.76 points (p < 0.001). A significant increase in the average load on the operated lower limb by 3.68 ± 3.18% was indicated as measured on the 14th day of rehabilitation (p < 0.001). The difference between the average load of the right and left limbs in the measurement on the first day of rehabilitation was an average of 9.77%, while on the fourteenth day of rehabilitation the difference between the average load of the right and left limbs decreased to an average of 3.5%. Conclusions Postsurgery rehabilitation allows to obtain physiological load ranges of the lower limbs, striving for a 50% share in the load of each of the lower limbs. The effectiveness of the implemented rehabilitation is confirmed on the basis of the analysed limb load parameters and the analysis of patients’ subjective assessments made using standardized questionnaires.