Gait metric profile and gender differences in hip osteoarthritis patients. A case-controlled study

Hip osteoarthritis (OA) is a slowly progressive destructive disease that results in alterations in joint loads and biomechanics to which patients adapt compensatory alterations and abnormal gait patterns. This prospective cross-sectional, case-controlled study examined these alterations in gait metrics and evaluated gender differences in gait spatiotemporal parameters. Correlations between function and gait metrics were also investigated.

Hip OA patients (138 females and 122 males) and healthy controls (14 females and 26 males) matched for age and gender underwent the same investigative protocol consisting of a spatiotemporal gait analysis followed by functional evaluations using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and the SF-36 Health Survey (SF-36).

Differences between the patient and the control groups were significant in all the spatiotemporal parameters. There were significant gender differences within the hip OA group in all parameters except for cadence and single limb support percentage. WOMAC and SF-36 scores revealed significant differences between the study and control groups in most components. Significantly higher scores in the three components of the WOMAC as well as in six SF-36 score components were found among males compared to females in the patient group.

Gait, WOMAC and SF-36 were effective objective and subjective tools for evaluating a large cohort of patients with hip OA, and can be highly useful for supplementing the assessment of hip OA severity and enhancing treatment efficacy during the course of the disease.