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Gait characteristics of patients after proximal femoral replacement for malignant bone tumour

¹ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Okayama University Medical School, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, Okayama 700-8558, Japan.
² Motion Analysis Laboratory
³ Department of Biomechanics and Biomaterials, Hospital for Special Surgery, 535 East 70th Street, New York, NY 10021, USA.
⁴ Orthopaedic Surgery Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021, USA.

Correspondence should be sent to Dr A. Kawai.

We analysed the gait characteristics of 15 patients with prosthetic reconstruction of the proximal femur after resection of a malignant bone tumour using stride analysis and measurement of oxygen consumption. Compared with normal volunteers their gait was slower, with less cadence and reduced stride length. The mean net energy cost of free walking was 141% of normal. The degree of asymmetry of the single-limb support time correlated with the free-walking velocity and the net energy cost. If they used a single cane the subjects walked with less cadence, longer stride length, and prolonged single-limb support times. The net energy cost of walking and asymmetry of the single-limb support time had a negative correlation with the strength of the hip abductor muscles. Their walking performance was better than that of six subjects who had hip disarticulation.