In vivo acetabular contact pressures during rehabilitation, Part II: Postacute phase

The authors conducted a two-part study to compare in vivo acetabular contact pressures during the acute and postacute phases of rehabilitation in a single subject with a pressure-instrumented femoral prosthesis. This report compares six common hip rehabilitation activities for resultant in vivo hip pressure magnitudes during the first 5 years after discharge from an acute care hospital. These activities were full, partial, touch-down, and non-weight-bearing ambulation and isometric hip abduction and straight-leg-raising exercises. A pressure-instrumented femoral endoprosthesis implanted in a 73-year-old woman who had sustained a femoral neck fracture provided data for the activities. The activities were rank ordered and compared over time according to peak pressure magnitude. Prescribed weight bearing and exercise type were not good predictors of hip peak pressures in this patient. Maximum pressures occurred by 1 year postdischarge for most activities, with a tendency to stabilize or decline thereafter. Resisted isometric hip abduction exercise demonstrated the most variation over time. The results suggest that hip pressures may be limited by controlling muscle force and movement velocity during postoperative hip rehabilitation activities.