Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Controlled Clinical Trial
. 2009 Dec;90(12):2125-30.
doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2009.06.022.

Body weight-supported treadmill training for patients with hip fracture: a feasibility study

Lora M Giangregorio  1 , Lehana Thabane, Justin Debeer, Leonardo Farrauto, Neil McCartney, Jonathan D Adachi, Alexandra Papaioannou
Affiliations
Controlled Clinical Trial

Body weight-supported treadmill training for patients with hip fracture: a feasibility study

Lora M Giangregorio et al. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2009 Dec.

Abstract

Giangregorio LM, Thabane L, deBeer J, Farrauto L, McCartney N, Adachi JD, Papaioannou A. Body weight-supported treadmill training for patients with hip fracture: a feasibility study.

Objective: To determine the feasibility of body weight-supported treadmill training (BWSTT) as a strategy for improving independent ambulation among patients who had sustained a hip fracture.

Design: Nonrandomized controlled trial.

Setting: Inpatient rehabilitation.

Participants: Patients with a stable hip fracture and at least 50% weight-bearing.

Intervention: BWSTT in lieu of standard walking exercises throughout stay in rehabilitation.

Main outcomes measures: Feasibility outcomes included the number of patients agreeing to participate in treadmill walking, the number who returned for follow-up assessments, compliance, and the number of adverse events. Secondary outcomes included the Lower Extremity Functional Scale, the Timed Up & Go test, a 2-minute walk test, and the Falls Self-Efficacy Scale. Univariate regression was used to assess the group effect on score changes from baseline to discharge and from baseline to follow-up.

Results: Among 41 potentially eligible patients, 21 (51%) agreed to participate and 14 returned for follow-up assessments. The recruitment goal of 12 patients agreeing to BWSTT was achieved; however, retention by 3-month follow-up was 67%. The average compliance was 3 sessions a week; however, several patients were below average. No adverse events of BWSTT were reported. There were no significant differences between groups with respect to secondary outcomes.

Conclusions: BWSTT may be a feasible method for retraining gait among patients with hip fracture. However, future studies evaluating its efficacy need rigorous methods for ensuring compliance and retention.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1
Flow chart of trial participants. Abbreviation: MRSA, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. von Friesendorff M, Besjakov J, Akesson K. Long-term survival and fracture risk after hip fracture: a 22-year follow-up in women. J Bone Miner Res. 2008;23:1832–41. - PubMed
    1. Papaioannou A, Wiktorowicz ME, Adachi JD, et al. Mortality, independence in living and re-fracture, one year following hip fracture in Canadians. J Soc Obstet Gynaecol Can. 2000;22:591–7.
    1. Wiktorowicz ME, Goeree R, Papaioannou A, Adachi JD, Papadimitropoulos E. Economic implications of hip fracture: health service use, institutional care and cost in Canada. Osteoporos Int. 2001;12:271–8. - PubMed
    1. Adachi JD, Loannidis G, Berger C, et al. The influence of osteoporotic fractures on health-related quality of life in community-dwelling men and women across Canada. Osteoporos Int. 2001;12:903–8. - PubMed
    1. Petrella RJ, Payne M, Myers A, Overend T, Chesworth B. Physical function and fear of falling after hip fracture rehabilitation in the elderly. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2000;79:154–60. - PubMed

Publication types

Grants and funding