Comparative study of the activity of total hip arthroplasty patients and normal subjects

The walking activity of normal subjects and total hip arthroplasty (THA) patients from the Wrightington Hospital for Joint Disease and The General Infirmary at Leeds was assessed by means of electronic pedometers. The principal objectives were to establish the extent to which joint arthroplasty patients recover their activity relative to normal subjects and to establish the number of loading cycles to which prostheses should be subjected in joint simulator studies of implant performance. A further objective was to establish an experimental procedure for the assessment of the role of activity in contributing to the well-known scatter in the measurements of femoral head penetration into acetabular cups in in vivo studies of implant performance. The last-mentioned issue is addressed in another article ([1]). The walking activity of 2 normal subjects of disparate ages was assessed during 1 full year. It was concluded that fair estimates of activity could be achieved by recording pedometer readings during successive 2- to 4-week periods. This approach was adopted in the full assessment of the walking activity of cohorts of normal subjects and THA patients. Linear regression expressions relating the number of steps taken daily and the annual number of loading cycles on each leg to age are presented for normal subjects and THA patients. In all cases, activity declines with age, but it is shown that total joint arthroplasty is not at all restrictive on walking activity-a remarkable testimony to the efficacy of total joint arthroplasty. Attention is drawn, however, to different levels of activity of THA patients recorded in the present United Kingdom study and a similar survey conducted in California.