Association between physical function and parameters of hip structural analysis in patients with hip fracture

The current study sought to investigate whether physical function and activity were associated with hip structural analysis (HSA) parameters on the non-fracture side of patients with hip fractures.

Participants were patients with unilateral hip fracture treated by surgery. HSA of the proximal femur was conducted based on dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry data. HSA parameters in the narrow neck region included cross-sectional area (CSA), cross-sectional moment of inertia (CSMI), section modulus (SM), and buckling ratio (BR). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to identify predictors of HSA.

Except for the adjustment variables, age, gender and BMI, other variables were extracted. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis (standardised partial regression coefficients) identified movement control during one-leg standing on the non-fractured side (0.15) as factors associated with CSA. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis (standardised partial regression coefficients) identified hand grip (0.12, 0.23) as factors associated with CSMI and SM, respectively. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis (standardised partial regression coefficients) identified presence of steroid (0.23) and cerebrovascular disease (0.19) as factors associated with BR. The coefficients of determination adjusted for degrees of freedom (R²) were 0.545, 0.331, 0.401, and 0.148 for CSA, CSMI, SM, and BR, respectively.

Our results indicate that movement control during 1-leg standing and muscle strength may be important for maintaining and improving bone strength.