• Yaniv Warschawski, Avi Elbaz, Ganit Segal, Doron Norman, Amir Haim, Elis Jacov, Alon Grundshtein, and Ely Steinberg.
• Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Sourasky Medical Center, Weizmann St 10, Tel-Aviv, Israel. yanivarsh@gmail.com.
• Arch Orthop Trauma Surg. 2015 Nov 1; 135 (11): 1541-6.

IntroductionThe purpose of the current study was to evaluate the long-term functional outcome as measured by gait patterns and quality of life assessment of patients with high-energy tibial plateau fracture compared to matched controls.Materials And MethodsThirty-eight patients were evaluated in a case-controlled comparison. Twenty-two patients with tibial plateau fracture were evaluated after 3.1 (1.63) years (sd) from injury. Patients underwent a computerized spatiotemporal gait test and completed the SF-12 health survey. 16 healthy subjects, matched for age and gender served as a control group. The main outcome measures for this study were spatiotemporal gait characteristics, physical quality of life and mental quality of life.ResultsSignificant differences were found in all gait parameters between patients with tibial plateau fracture and healthy controls. Patients with tibial plateau fracture walked slower by 18% compared to the control group (p < 0.001), had slower cadence by 8% compared (p = 0.002) to the control group and had shorter step length in the involved leg by 11% and in the uninvolved leg by 12% compared to the control group (p = 0.006 and p = 0.003, respectively). Patients with tibial plateau fracture also showed shorter single limb support (SLS) in the involved leg by 12% compared to the uninvolved leg and 5% in the uninvolved leg compared to the control group (p < 0.001 and p = 0.017, respectively). Significant differences were found in the Short Form (SF)-12 scores. Physical Health Score of patients with tibial plateau fracture was 65% lower compared to healthy controls (p < 0.001), and Mental Health Score of the patients was 40% lower compared to healthy controls (p < 0.001). Finally, significant correlations were found between SF-12 and gait patterns.ConclusionLong-term deviations in gait and quality of life exist in patients following tibial plateau fracture. Patients following tibial plateau fracture present altered spatiotemporal gait patterns compared to healthy controls, as well as self-reported quality of life.

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