Shoulder brace has no detrimental effect on basic spatio-temporal gait parameters and functional mobility after...

The risk of falls in patients undergoing orthopedic procedures is significant in terms of health and socioeconomic effects.

Is there an influence of the shoulder abduction brace (SAB) on gait parameters in patients undergoing arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR)?

Thirty-five patients undergoing ARCR, who used a 15° SAB in the postoperative period, were included in a prospective study. Participants underwent gait analysis preoperatively (T₀), 24 h after surgery (T₁), 1 week (T₂), and 4 weeks after surgery (1 week after SAB removal) (T₃) by using a wearable inertial sensor (BTS G-Walk sensor). Gait Parameters (cadence, speed, right (R) and left (L) step length, gait and propulsion-R and L symmetry indices) and functional mobility (agility and balance) were assessed using the 10-meter test (10MWT) and the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, respectively.

There were 22 men and 13 women with a median age of 56 (IQR 48.0-61.0) years. The right upper limb was involved in 83% of cases. Regarding the 10MWT, speed was significantly higher at T₀ than at T₁ (p < 0.01) and significantly lower at T₁ than at T₃ (p < 0.05). Cadence was significantly lower at T₁ than at T₃ (p < 0.05). Propulsion-R was significantly higher at T₃ than at T₁ (p < 0.01), whereas propulsion-L was significantly lower at T₁ than at T₀ (p < 0.05) and significantly higher at T₂ and T₃ than T₁ (p < 0.01 for all). No significant differences were found for R and L step lengths as well as for symmetry index (p > 0.05). Regarding TUG test, the final turning phase was significantly higher at T₂ than at T₃ (p < 0.01).

The results demonstrated that the use of the SAB affected gait speed and propulsion only 24 h after ARCR, but no effects were reported at long-term observations.