Gait Characteristics of Fallers and Nonfallers in Female Patients with Unilateral End-Stage Hip Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis of the hip (hip OA) may increase the risk of falls. To decrease fall risk, it is important to assess the gait characteristics of patients with hip OA in detail. This study aimed to investigate the gait characteristics of patients with hip OA caused by falls by simultaneously assessing foot and waist trajectories via an inertial measurement unit (IMU).

The subjects were 77 patients with hip OA, 17 of whom had fallen in the past year. The physical function, gait parameters, and waist trajectories of the fall and nonfall groups were compared.

Compared with the nonfall group, the fall group was older and had higher fall scores and lower Japan Orthopaedic Association (JOA) hip scores. With respect to gait characteristics, the stride length on the nonaffected side was significantly shorter in the fall group than in the nonfall group. Stride velocity gait asymmetry was also significantly lower in the fall group than in the nonfall group. The amount of lifting of the waist on the affected and nonaffected sides was significantly lower in the falling group than in the nonfalling group.

It was suggested that the fall group might be adapting to stabilization and adjusting to a stable and safe gait pattern because of the effects of falls; new gait characteristics regarding falls in patients with hip OA were found.