2024 Volume 15 Issue 6 Pages 959-968
Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate whether gait ability before surgery and outpatient exercise therapy after surgery impacted the clinical results in patients with osteoporotic vertebral fractures (OVFs) treated with balloon kyphoplasty (BKP).
Methods: The patients with OVFs in our hospital were divided into two groups according to the need for preoperative gait support: gait support group, n=57; and non-gait support group, n=58. Secondly, those groups were divided into four groups according to postoperative outpatient exercise therapy: group A, n=24, support (−), exercise therapy (−); group B, n=33, support (−), exercise therapy (+); group C, n=26, support (+), exercise therapy (−); and group D, n=32, support (+), exercise therapy (+). The clinical results were compared among those groups 6, and 12 months after BKP using a visual analogue scale, Japanese Orthopaedic Association Back Pain Evaluation Questionnaire (JOABPEQ), and Short-Form 8-Item Health Survey.
Results: Gait support group had significantly older patients, longer hospitalized duration and more sagittal vertical axis than non-gait support group. The clinical evaluation methods improved after surgery in the all groups. However, non-gait support group showed higher scores and had higher efficacy rates for walking ability and social life function of JOABPEQ than gait support group 6 and 12 months after surgery. Moreover, group D showed higher scores for walking ability and social life function and had higher efficacy rate for walking ability than group C 6 months after surgery.
Conclusions: These results suggest that gait ability before surgery might affect the clinical results in OVF patients treated with BKP. In addition, outpatient exercise therapy might be effective for OVF patients treated with BKP who needed preoperative gait support.
