Assessment of gait and balance in patients with spinal diseases using the leg reposition test.

Kasai, Yuichi; Kato, Hidekazu; Morishita, Koichiro; Kawakita, Eiji; Kondo, Tetsushi; Uchida, Atsumasa · Orthopedics · 2005

prospective_cohort · Level II

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Abstract

We devised a new leg reposition test, to assess gait and balance in patients with spinal diseases. This study included 344 patients who were scheduled to undergo spine surgery; 14 (4.1%) patients showed positive results. These 14 patients had worse gait status than leg reposition test-negative patients both preoperatively and postoperatively. The leg reposition test is a simple procedure, and requires no specialized equipment. This study showed that the leg reposition test has a strong relation with gait status, and therefore a high clinical significance regarding the assessment of preoperative gait and balance and prediction of postoperative gait status.

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