The Investigation about Life-Style, Gait Ability and QOL of Femoral Neck Fracture Cases by the Mail Questionnaire

Abstract

We studied life-style, gait ability and QOL of femoral neck fracture cases by mail questionnaires. We sent 170 questionnaires and got 89 answers (52.4%). The cases were 76 females and 13 males with an average age of 77.2 ± 8.7 years old. Twenty-one percent of cases answered that they did not get the same life-style as before the fracture. Fifty percent of cases felt coxalgia, 45% felt worried about hip joint trouble, and 32% experienced reccurrence of fall. Some cases changed the home environment, making floors flatter and installing handrails. Gait abilities were lower at the discharge than at admission, but they became higher 1 year after discharge. The WHO/QOL26 scores of our cases were lower than those of the general elderly population, and were especially lower in the wheelchair cases. Sixty-one percent of cases had been performing self-training after discharge. Recovery of life-style and outdoor leisure activities are important factors of WHO/QOL26 scores, and the fact that the cases of lower gait ability improved after discharge suggests that daily gait exercise after discharge is important for a high QOL.