Assessment of static and dynamic balance in patients after total hip arthroplasty based on the Tinetti Test

Abstract

Introduction: A degenerative disease of a hip joint (osteoarthritis) is a chronic affliction which causes progressive degeneration of a hip joint and tissue located around it. It inflicts limitation of locomotor skills, deteriorates life quality to a significant extent, and prevents a patient from normal activities in daily life. In Poland, more than 3 million people suffer from osteoarthritis. The disease symptoms are pain, limitation of mobility scope in a joint, postural and gait disorders, and positioning of a lower limb in non-functional position. The aim of the study was to analyze the gait pattern and to assess the static and dynamic balance of people qualified for hip joint arthroplasty, as well as possibility of falling.

Material and methods: The Tinetti Test has been used for the research in question. This test has been completed in patients awaiting for hip joint arthroplasty, and once more on a third day upon completion of arthroplasty, in the Department and Clinic of Orthopaedics, Traumatology and Oncology of Locomotor System of the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin. This test has included a group of 31 – 11 women and 20 men.

Results: The mean age of the research group was 65.1 years. The intensity of pain in the hip joint, based on the VAS scale before and after the procedure, was 6.53 and 5.22 points, respectively. The average number of points obtained by the patient in the Tinetti Test before the surgery was 22.71 points. On the third day of hip surgery, the mean number of points decreased to 18.81 points.

Conclusions: Patients treated with alloplastic surgery of a hip joint show lower static and dynamic balance. Upon completion of the surgery, the patients are more prone to fall. The patients with completed hip joint arthroplasty show symptoms of locomotor system disorders.