An analysis of posture and gait following spinal fusion with Harrington instrumentation

This study was stimulated by a paretic spinal injury patient who required crutches for a forward lean, which his trunk developed following spinal instrumentation. Ten patients who underwent Harrington instrumentation to correct scoliosis also displayed reduced lordosis. Partial compensation by increased lumbosacral angle occurred when this joint was open. The patients' standing posture and that of 11 normal adults were assessed with the visible vector system. Five stood with excessive hip hyperextension and three had exaggerated knee flexion. The latter three also demonstrated, during walking, inadequate terminal swing knee extension with excessive knee flexion and ankle dorsi-flexion during stance. There was increased frontal and sagittal sway in four patients.