Low effectiveness of prescribed partial weight bearing - Continuous recording of vertical loads using a new pressure-sensitive insole

To enable objective measurements of weight bearing in hip replacement patie nts a portable instrument set-up with an on-line registering pressure-sensi tive insole was developed. Six men and 9 women, median age 58 (48-67) years , who had been operated on with a cementless or hybrid hip arthroplasty wer e studied. All patients were independent and functional. A physiotherapist instructed the patients to use crutches in order to support 30% of their bo dy weight. The patients then walked a standardized distance with crutches o ver five different types of terrain: level, uphill, downhill, upstairs and downstairs. The trial was repeated once. In both men and women most of the steps taken resulted in a load of >30% of body weight. None of the patients managed to comply with the directive, even though five of them thought the y did. The type of terrain had no significant influence on the pattern of l oad. Our findings indicate that the effectiveness of prescribing limited we ight bearing is questionable.