A study on early weight-bearing after rotational acetabular osteotomy (RAO) was performed in our hospital. In this study, gait analysis was performed on 27 patients (all females; mean age 37 years, range 12-58 years) who underwent unilateral RAO between 1999 to 2003.
The gait was analyzed preoperatively and 3 weeks, 1, 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively. All the patients underwent a "free" walking test on a 5-m walkway having a ground reaction force plate (gait scan 8000; Nitta Inc.). The test was carried out for 5 seconds. Single and double support duration (% cycle) was assessed. The normal average value in healthy humans reported by Murray et al. 3) was used during the assessment.
The preoperative single support duration was unchanged while the double support duration was increased when compared with that for a normal person. Three weeks post operation, single support duration showed increasing reduction while double support duration showed decreasing reduction. However, single support duration gradually attained the normal average value within 1 year. Double support duration attained the normal average value postoperatively. Thus, it can be concluded that the gait improved post RAO. These results concurred with other studies that also reported pre- and postoperativ results in patients with late weight-bearing post RAO. Given these results, we believe gait characteristics remain unaffected post RAO if early weight-bearing is performed.
