Orthopedics Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Orthopedics, including details on chronic injuries, muscoskeletal disorders, surgery, reconstruction.

Are the recommendations from three-dimensional gait analysis associated with better postoperative outcomes in patients with cerebral palsy?

Filho MC, Yoshida R, Carvalho WD, Stein HE, Novo NF

Cerebral Palsy Clinic and Gait Laboratory, Association for Care of Disable Children, AACD, São Paulo, Brazil; Institute of Orthopedics and Traumatology (IOT) and of the Division of Rehabilitation Medicine (DMR) of the University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo (SP), Brazil.

This study was performed to check if recommendations based on three-dimensional gait analysis (3DGA) are associated with better postoperative outcomes in patients with cerebral palsy (CP). Thirty-eight patients who underwent orthopedic surgery and assessment at the Gait Analysis Laboratory were evaluated retrospectively. The patients were divided in four groups according to the agreement between the recommendations from gait analysis and the procedures actually carried out. Fifteen patients with diplegic spastic cerebral palsy and indication for orthopedic surgery to improve walking - and whose surgical intervention was postponed - were also included in the study as a control group. Fourteen gait parameters recorded before and after treatment, were included in the statistical analysis. No gait improvement was noted in the control group or inh patients on whom no procedures recommended by the gait exam were performed (agreement of 0%). In the other groups, agreements averaged 46.71%, 72.2%, and 100%, respectively. Improvement of gait parameters after treatment was observed in these groups, with more significant values directly related to increased agreement percentage. Therefore, in this study the patients whose treatment matched the recommendations from three-dimensional gait analysis showed a more significant improvement in walking.

Published 7 July 2008 in Gait Posture, 28(2): 316-322.
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