Which factors are associated with the functional recovery in patients undergoing endoprosthetic knee reconstruction following bone tumour resection? - A observational study.
Mattia Morri, Debora Raffa, Daniela Vigna and 3 others
PMID 30619621WHAT IT FOUND
At one year after knee tumour prosthesis surgery, standing balance was linked to walking speed, walking endurance and getting up and going.
This suggests physiotherapists may add balance work to gait training, but no treatment was tested.
Key findings
01Standing balance control was correlated with all gait tests performed.
02Age, duration of chemotherapy and knee extensor strength also showed correlations.
03Knee range of motion and percentage of bone resection showed positive associations with the disability score but not statistical significance.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study analysed only 15 patients, and the authors said the data did not have enough power for a full inferential analysis. It was an observational study at one year after surgery, so it cannot show that balance training caused better function. The sample mixed distal femur and proximal tibia reconstructions, which have different biomechanical effects. Only 19 of 22 treated patients could be contacted, and 4 were excluded for recurrence or fracture, so the sample may not represent all such patients. The balance test was only 10 seconds on a stabilometric platform, and the authors noted no standard way to perform this test. The paper reports several correlations and does not name a single primary outcome.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these correlations as proof that balance training improves recovery. The study observed 15 patients after surgery and tested no intervention, so it cannot show that adding balance exercises caused better gait.