Biofeedback Training for Partial Weight Bearing in Patients After Total Hip Arthroplasty

Abstract Pataky Z, De Leon Rodriguez D, Golay A, Assal M, Assal J-P, Hauert C-A. Biofeedback training for partial weight bearing in patients after total hip arthroplasty. Objective To evaluate a new biofeedback training method based on visual delivery of information in patients after total hip arthroplasty (THA). Design Intervention study with prepost design. Setting Hospitalized care in a university referral center. Participants Patients (N=11) (age 56.1±9.0y) shortly after THA. Intervention A mobile system has been used for biofeedback training with the predefined partial weight bearing (PWB) threshold of 20kg. After the learning period, 4 retention tests, consisting of 3 successive walking cycles without feedback, were recorded for each patient: (1) acquisition test, (2) early retention test (after 30min), (3) the day after, and (4) after 2 days. Main Outcome Measure The pressure error and the maximum pressure force at each step before and after biofeedback training. Results A significant difference of pressure errors between the beginning and the end of the learning period has been measured (42.5±22.5N vs 3.7±11.4N, P P Conclusions THA patients were able to use the defined PWB during a short period of time and shortly after stopping the training; both the pressure errors and the maximal pressure force attended the values before training. These results confirm the difficulties to achieve PWB in patients after THA.