Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 21, 2026
07:44
Evaluation of Patients' Posture and Gait Profile After Lumbar Fusion Surgery by Video Rasterstereography and Treadmill Gait Analysis
Published on: March 23, 2019
19.0K
Longitudinal Investigation of Postural Strategies Associated with Improvement in Gait Speed Following Adult Spinal
Naoto Mano1, Kimihiko Mori2, Takayuki Konishi1
1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Kansai Medical University Hospital, 2-3-1 Shinmachi, Hirakata, Osaka, 573-1191, Japan.
Spine
|March 20, 2026
Summary
Spinal fixation surgery improves gait speed by altering the center of mass to center of pressure distance, particularly through hip and ankle movements. Rehabilitation strategies should target these specific postural strategies for better outcomes in adult spinal deformity patients.
Area of Science:
- Orthopedics
- Biomechanics
- Rehabilitation Medicine
Background:
- Spinal fixation for adult spinal deformity (ASD) improves radiographic parameters and quality of life.
- Gait function improvement after spinal fixation remains challenging and poorly understood.
- Longitudinal gait analysis is lacking to explain changes in speed and posture post-surgery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify postural strategies linked to gait speed improvement after spinal fixation.
- To utilize machine learning for analyzing gait changes post-surgery.
- To investigate the relationship between center of mass to center of pressure (COM-COP) distance and gait speed.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective longitudinal cohort study of 89 ASD patients.
- Three-dimensional gait analysis pre- and 6-months post-surgery.
- K-means clustering to categorize postoperative gait patterns and extract disease-specific characteristics.
Main Results:
- Gait speed changes correlated with COM-COP distance changes (r=0.607, P<0.001).
- Postoperative gait speed strongly associated with COM-COP distance (r=0.873, P<0.001).
- COM-COP distance influenced by hip sagittal angle/power and ankle plantarflexion; younger patients (Cluster A) improved gait speed, older patients (Cluster B) did not.
Conclusions:
- COM-COP distance, influenced by hip and ankle movements, is key to gait speed improvement post-spinal fixation.
- Findings suggest targeted rehabilitation strategies focusing on hip and ankle biomechanics.
- Understanding patient-specific postural adaptations is crucial for optimizing gait recovery.
