In Vivo Hip Joint Loading during Post-Operative Physiotherapeutic Exercises.
After hip surgery, it is the orthopedist’s decision to allow full weight bearing to prevent complications or to prescribe partial weight bearing for bone ingrowth or fracture consolidation. While most loading conditions in the hip joint during activities of daily living are known, it remains unclear how demanding physiotherapeutic exercises are. Recommendations for clinical rehabilitation have been established, but these guidelines vary and have not been scientifically confirmed. The aim of this study was to provide a basis for practical recommendations by determining the hip
joint contact forces and moments that act during physiotherapeutic activities.
Weight bearing activities caused the highest loads among all exercises. Movements against resistance or loads acting at long lever arms seem to be non-hazardous regarding the force magnitudes, but may cause high torsional moments. The forces during isometric contractions depend on the contraction intensity which is rather influenced by the motivation than by the maximal muscle strength. Generally, the joint contact forces are increased by muscle co-contractions, which press the joint partners against each other, an effect that is observed when exercising the contralateral limb while the ipsilateral limb is passive. When deciding between partial and full weight bearing, physicians should consider the loads relative to those observed during walking > from Schwachmeyer et al.; PLOS ONE 8 (2013) 8p. All rights reserved to the authors and plosone.org.
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