Improvement in Gait Parameters After Lengthening for the Treatment of Limb-Length Discrepancy*

TLDR

Patients with limb‑length discrepancy exhibit altered gait patterns or limping. The study aimed to compare gait parameters of the shorter and longer limbs before and after lengthening and against healthy controls. Eighteen patients underwent limb‑length equalization and had stance time, second‑peak vertical ground‑reaction force, and loading rate measured with paired force plates. Lengthening reduced stance‑time asymmetry from 12 % to 2.4 % and increased the shorter limb’s second‑peak force from 104 % to 113 % of body weight, eliminating significant inter‑limb differences.

Abstract

Background: Patients who have limb-length discrepancy demonstrate an altered gait pattern or a limp. The purpose of this prospective study was to compare the objective gait parameters for the shorter lower limb with those for the longer lower limb before and after lengthening and to compare these data with those for a group of twenty subjects who had no limb-length discrepancy.Methods: Eighteen patients had equalization of limb length to within one centimeter. We analyzed the stance time, the second peak of the vertical ground-reaction-force vector, and the rate of loading with use of two force-plates arranged in a series.Results: The difference in the mean stance times between the shorter and longer limbs before lengthening was 12 percent, whereas that after lengthening was 2.4 percent; the difference between the values before and after lengthening was significant (p < 0.001). The difference in the stance times between the limbs of the patients who did not have limb-length discrepancy was 2 percent. Preoperatively, the mean second peak was 104 percent of body weight for the shorter limb compared with 116 percent for the longer limb; this difference was significant (p < 0.001). After lengthening, the mean second peak for the shorter limb increased to 113 percent of body weight. The difference in the means for the second peak before and after lengthening was significant (p < 0.001). With the numbers available, no significant difference was detected in the means for the second peak between the shorter and longer limbs after lengthening (p = 0.12).Conclusions: This study shows that lengthening of the shorter limb of patients who have limb-length discrepancy can normalize symmetry of quantifiable stance parameters and eliminate a limp.