Riassunto dello studio

Seventy-three patients who underwent surgery to treat isolated closed tibial plateau or ankle fractures and scheduled for post-surgical rehabilitation with partial weight-bearing were randomized to undergo an anti-gravity treadmill rehabilitation (n=37) or standard rehabilitation protocol (n=36). The primary outcome was change in the total Foot and Ankle Outcome Score (FAOS) from baseline at 6 weeks follow-up for ankle fractures and the change in the total Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) from baseline at 6 weeks follow-up for tibial plateau fractures. Secondary outcomes included the following: change in FAOS sub-scores for ankle fractures and KOOS sub-scores for tibial plateau from baseline at 6 weeks follow-up. Other outcomes measured included leg circumference for indication of thigh and lower leg muscle atrophy as well as incidence of adverse events, evaluated at 6 weeks follow up. Results demonstrated that no statistically significant difference was observed for any of the primary or secondary outcomes between the 2 protocols (p>0.05 for all). However, for leg circumference in tibial plateau fractures and all fractures, the mean change in 6 weeks from baseline was statistically significantly different between the 2 groups in favour of the treadmill group (p=0.005). 6 adverse events were observed in the treadmill group and 5 adverse events were observed in the standard protocol group.