Farhan Majeed, Khawar Tufail, Ahmad Shams Nasir, Mohammad Arif, Zahid Shafique.
Hip Abductor Strength following Total Hip Arthroplasty: a Prospective study of Lateral Approach in 38 patients.
J Sharif Med Dent Coll Jan ;7(01):25-9.

Objective: To assess the hip abductor strength and Trendelenburg test after total hip arthroplasty through a lateral approach. Methodology: It was a prospective cohort study conducted at the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Services Hospital, Lahore over a duration of 10 months from March to December 2020. Thirty-Eight patients with unilateral hip osteoarthritis undergoing total hip arthroplasty via lateral approach were selected by convenient sampling. Pre-operative assessment of patients was done and the patients were re-assessed postoperatively after 1, 4, and 24 weeks for muscle strength using the Medical Research Council (MRC) Scale and Trendelenburg test. Paired t-test was used to assess the difference between mean abductor muscle strength after 1 and 24 weeks for statistical, significance considering a p-value <=0.05 as a significant value. Results: Out of the 38 patients selected, 2 were lost during the follow-up. Pre-operatively 24 patients tested positive and 14 tested negative for the Trendelenburg test on the involved side. The average muscle strength on the involved side pre-operatively was 3.67+/-0.43. There was a marked difference in the Trendelenburg test and muscle power pre-operatively on the normal side. One week post-operatively, 15 patients tested positive for the Trendelenburg test in contrast to 24 pre-operatively, 7 tested positive at 4 weeks and 3 tested positive at 24 weeks subsequently. Muscle power improved to 4.21+/-0.41 one week post-operatively in contrast to 3.67+/-0.43 pre-operatively, 4.53+/-0.51 at 4 weeks, and 4.95+/-0.23 at 24 weeks. This trend was seen in both males and females. Conclusion: There is a marked improvement in hip abductor strength following total hip arthroplasty using lateral approach provided timely rehabilitation is applied along with good patient compliance. The MRC method has proven to be a simpler yet effective method. Keywords: Abductor strength. Lateral approach. Osteoarthritis. Total hip arthroplasty. Trendelenburg test.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com