Mobility improvement in the first 6 postoperative weeks in orthogeriatric fracture patients

Background Physical activity is a relevant outcome parameter in orthopedic surgery, that can be objectively assessed. Until now, there is little information regarding objective gait parameters in the orthogeriatric population. This study focuses on the first 6 weeks of postoperative rehabilitation, and delivers objective data about gait speed and step length in typical orthogeriatric fracture patterns. Methods Thirty-one orthogeriatric fracture patients [pertrochanteric femur fractures (PFF), femoral neck (FN), and proximal humerus fractures (PHF)] were consecutively enrolled in a maximum care hospital in a prospective study design. All patients wore an accelerometer placed at the waist during the postoperative stay (24 h/d) and at 6-week follow-up, to measure real gait speed and step length. In addition, self-assessment of mobility (Parker mobility score) and activities of daily living (Barthel index) were collected at baseline, during the inpatient stay, and at 6-week follow-up. Results During postoperative hospitalization, significantly higher gait speed (m/s) was observed in the PHF group (0.52 ± 0.27) compared with the FN group (0.36 ± 0.28) and PFF group (0.19 ± 0.28) ( p