Abstract
In clinical practices the evaluation criteria presented by the Japanese Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons are followed in Japan. These evaluation criteria consist of four items, namely WALK, PAIN, ADL, and ROM for each hip joint, which are scored on the basis of maximum 100 points. However, the evaluation point attached to each item is decided for convenience' sake and the basis of scoring is unclear. So, improvement of point distribution has been carried out using the quantification theory, together with the result of objective gait evaluation of 228 patients with hip diseases. The result of objective gait evaluation is a synthetic value obtained by measuring joint angular displacement of lower extremities, floor reaction force, trajectory for a point of force application, temporal factor, and distance factor. The new evaluation criteria have following characteristics.
1) The point reveals linearity.
2) A evaluation point is assigned to each patient, not to each hip joint.
3) Evaluation items and point distribution are decided according to the characteristics of each patient's status, and the evaluation items do not contain redundant ones.
4) The total points show good agreement with the result of objective gait evaluation.
