Body Weight Supported Treadmill Training Following Hip Fracture

Morbidity and mortality rates associated with hip fracture are enormous. Current literature regarding post-hip fracture rehabilitation is sparse. A recent Cochrane review suggested that the potential for enhancing the recovery of mobility in hip fracture patients with treadmill gait retraining warrants further research in this area. Body weight supported treadmill training (BWSTT) is a novel approach to retraining ambulation, and has been successfully implemented in other patient populations. BWSTT may be ideal for retraining gait after hip fracture, as it is task-specific and alleviates the demands of maintaining equilibrium while walking skills are trained. The objectives of the proposed pilot study are to evaluate the feasibility and tolerability of using BWSTT as a gait retraining strategy in individuals who have experienced a hip fracture, and to explore whether it can improve mobility, fear of falling and function. Participants' feedback will be sought regarding the BWSTT experience for use in planning future clinical trials, to be submitted to CIHR. Quantitative outcomes will be assessed at baseline, and after 4 weeks of training 3-5 times per week. Outcome measures include: the Lower Extremity Functional Scale, health-related quality of life (SF-36), Falls-Efficacy Scale and the 2-minute walk test. Based on previous research experience with the frail elderly, we anticipate that many patients will be receptive to rehabilitation in the form of BWSTT. We hypothesize that BWSTT after hip fracture will result in significant gains in ambulatory capacity, as well as improvements in quality of life and functional independence. In addition, we anticipate that BWSTT will prove to be a feasible and effective gait retraining strategy.