The characteristics and recovery process of pelvic obliquity during gait and motor functions of patients with or without Trendelenburg inverse gait before and after total hip arthroplasty

Abstract

We investigated the characteristics and recovery process of pelvic obliquity during gait and the motor functions of patients with or without Trendelenburg inverse gait, before and after total hip arthroplasty (THA). This study included 18 women who underwent unilateral total hip arthroplasty; informed consent was obtained from these patients. Before the operation, patients were divided into 2 groups: 8 Non-Trendelenburg inverse gait patients (NTI group) and 10 Trendelenburg inverse gait patients (TIgroup). We performed 2 analyses at before THA and at 2 weeks, 4 weeks and 6 months after THA. The first involved sthenometry and measurements of the range of hip abduction-adduction motion and trunk lateral bending; the second involved measurement of pelvic obliquity and the range of hip abduction-adduction motion during the stance phase in gait. Preoperatively, the range of hip adduction motion was significantly lower in the TI group than in the NTI group. In the TI group, abduction muscle strength of the affected hip side decreased at 2 and 4 weeks. At 6 months, the affected hip side showed joint adduction muscle weakness in the TI group as compared to the NTI group. Before operation in the TI group, restrictions in the range of hip adduction motion of the affected hip side may cause Trendelenburg inverse gait. Furthermore, compared with the NTI group, the TI group showed delayed recovery of hip joint abduction in the affected side as well as decrease in the hip joint adduction muscular strength of the affected side.