Short or long fusion after thoracolumbar burst fractures does not alter selected gait parameters: a preliminary study

We evaluated the gait characteristics of patients who had short or long-segment fusion after thoracolumbar burst fractures. The study included 12 patients (5 male, 7 female) who had vertebral fusion after traumatic thoracolumbar region (T12-L2) burst fractures. Patients were divided into two groups based on fixation type (short or long segment). Twelve healthy age and sex-matched subjects (seven male, five female) served as controls. Quantitative gait data, including all time-distance (walking velocity, cadence, step time, step length, double support time), kinematic (joint rotation angles of pelvis, hip, knee, and ankle), and kinetic data (moments of hip in sagittal and coronal plane) were collected. Three patients had a T12, six patients an L1, and three patients had an L2 lesion. Patients in the two groups were similar in terms of age, sex, and time since operation. No significant differences were found in the time-distance, kinematic, and kinetic gait characteristics between the two groups. This preliminary study reveals that the gait characteristics of patients with short and long-segment fusion after thoracolumbar burst fractures were similar to those of healthy subjects and did not differ from each other. However, the present results should be interpreted with caution due to the small sample size. Future studies with larger groups are needed to provide additional data to validate these findings. © 2011 Orthopaedic Research Society Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 29:915–918