Anti-gravity treadmill therapy may be safe, effective for periarticular fractures
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Key takeaways:
- Patients receiving anti-gravity treadmill therapy had better patient satisfaction scores compared with the control group.
- There was no difference in complications or fracture healing between the two groups.
SEATTLE — Anti-gravity treadmill therapy may be an effective and safe treatment method for early controlled weight-bearing in patients with lower extremity periarticular injuries, according to data presented here.
“In conclusion, although we were underpowered to detect a difference, we did see large treatment effects on our distal tibia group, thereby potentially showing that there might be clinically meaningful difference between the intervention group and control for distal tibia fractures,” Daniel J. Stinner, MD, PhD, said in his presentation at the Orthopaedic Trauma Association Annual Meeting.
Stinner and colleagues randomly assigned 80 patients aged 18 to 55 years with a closed distal femur, distal plateau or distal tibia fracture to receive either anti-gravity treadmill therapy for 10 weeks or standard-of-care treatment.
“Our primary outcome measure was KOOS for patients with distal femur and tibial plateau fractures and [Ankle Osteoarthritis Scale] AOS for patients with distal tibia fractures,” Stinner said. “Secondary outcome measures included [Patient-Reported Outcome Measure Information System] PROMIS physical function, fracture healing, complications and satisfaction with physical care.”
Stinner said the two groups had no differences in KOOS scores or PROMIS physical function scores for periarticular knee injuries. For distal tibia fractures, Stinner said the two groups had no differences in AOS scores or PROMIS physical function, as well as no differences in complications or fracture healing.
In addition, Stinner said patients receiving anti-gravity treadmill therapy had greater adherence and patient satisfaction during treatment compared with the control group.
“There was no clear treatment effect in periarticular injuries to the knee and no difference in complications or fracture healing, suggesting anti-gravity treadmill therapy is safe,” Stinner said.
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Stinner DJ, et al. Paper 90. Presented at: Orthopaedic Trauma Association Annual Meeting; Oct. 18-21, 2023; Seattle.
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