Residual Impairment after Lower Extremity Fracture

Abstract

In a prospective follow-up study of 158 consecutive patients 18 to 64 years old with unilateral lower extremity fracture, our aim was to disclose the impairment and disability 6 months after the injury. The patients were interviewed within 1 week after the trauma, and all patients returned to the hospital for an interview and a clinical assessment 6 months later. The disability was measured by administering the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP) to all patients by an interview process. SIP scores were calculated for pretraumatic and posttraumatic states. The pretraumatic SIP scores described the functional status before the injury. Additionally, three major aspects of impairments were measured 6 months after the fractures: range of motion, muscle strength, and pain. Most patients had a significantly higher SIP score 6 months after the fracture(s) than pretraumatically. The mean overall SIP score was 2.7 pretraumatically and 8.7 6 months posttraumatically. Major deficits in range of motion was observed, especially in the ankle joint. Additionally, loss of muscle strength was observed in the thigh and calf muscles in one fourth of the patients. Only low levels of residual pain were reported after 6 months.

Long-term Outcome after Lower Extremity Injuries in Severely Injured Patients

“…LEI patients had significantly worse scores on almost all subscales of the SIP as compared to age-and gender-matched controls. We found the same prevalence of limitations on the mean overall SIP score as that reported in the literature (mild to moderate disability) [23,24,32,33]. We also found worse HRQoL on the Physical Functioning, Role-Physical, Vitality and Social Functioning subscales of the SF-36, compared to normative data for the Dutch population.…”

Association of home care needs and functional recovery among community-dwelling elderly hip fracture patients

“…getting into and out of a chair without assistance, dressing by themselves, or going to the toilet two weeks after discharge (Faergemann, Frandsen, & Rock, 1998;Guralnik, Ferrucci, Simonsick, Salive, & Wallace, 1995;Heinemann, Linacre, Wright, Hamilton, & Granger, 1993). In Taiwan, surgery for hip fractures is reimbursed by the National Health Insurance using a diagnosis-related group payment system, a system which has reduced the average hospital length of stay (Lu & Hsiao, 2003).…”

The course of health status and (health-related) quality of life following fracture of the lower extremity: a 6-month follow-up study

“…After a lower extremity fracture (LEF), physical impairment often sustains 6 months or longer [2–5]. For instance, 6 months after LEF, more than half of the patients still report deficits in range of motion, and in 12–25 % of the patients, loss of muscle strength was present [2].…”

“…After a lower extremity fracture (LEF), physical impairment often sustains 6 months or longer [2–5]. For instance, 6 months after LEF, more than half of the patients still report deficits in range of motion, and in 12–25 % of the patients, loss of muscle strength was present [2]. About half of the patients with a surgically treated bimalleolar or trimalleolar fracture has residual pain, stiffness, and ankle swelling 1 year post-fracture [3].…”