Published in:
01-04-2019 | Original Article • ANKLE - BIOMECHANICS
Relationships among subjective patient-reported outcome, quality of life, and objective gait characteristics using wearable foot inertial-sensor assessment in foot–ankle patients
Published in: European Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery & Traumatology | Issue 3/2019
Login to get accessAbstract
Background
This study aimed to determine the relationships between subjective validated patient-reported outcomes and health-related quality of life, to objective gait characteristics in patients with foot–ankle conditions. Objective gait characteristics were obtained using a wearable foot inertial-sensor device as well as by assessing the relationships between spatiotemporal or gait parameters by analyzing the inter-metric correlations.
Methods
Fifty-two patients with foot–ankle conditions (37 women/15 men, aged 21–75 years) were included in this study. Clinical assessments, including evaluations of validated patient-reported outcomes using visual analog scale foot and ankle score, health-related quality of life using validated Short Form-36, and gait characteristics using a wearable foot inertial-sensor device, were performed and recorded for each patient.
Results
A significant negative correlation was observed between the physical component summary (PCS) and maximal cadence (r = − 0.308, P = 0.025). Significant positive correlations were noted between mean walking speed and mean cadence (r = 0.776, P < 0.001) and between maximal walking speed and mean step length (r = 0.498, P < 0.001). Significant negative correlations were found between the mean cadence and mean step length (r = − 0.491, P < 0.001) and between maximal cadence and mean step length (r = − 0.355, P = 0.009).
Conclusions
Cadence is an important objective spatiotemporal parameter to assess in foot and ankle patients as it relates well to outcome, with a significantly negatively correlation to subjectively reported PCS in health-related quality of life. Based on inter-metric relationships, an increased cadence might be used to maintain walking speed as a compensatory mechanism in patients with foot–ankle conditions.