Functional Recovery Measured by Longitudinal Daily Steps in Individuals with Acetabular Dysplasia Undergoing Periacetabular Osteotomy

Research Objectives: Periacetabular osteotomy (PAO) is a surgical procedure for individuals with acetabular dysplasia (AD), with goals of increasing hip joint bony congruency and improving pain and function. Little is known regarding functional recovery over time following PAO. We used commercially-available wrist-worn activity trackers to monitor daily steps from before to 4 months following PAO.

Design: A cohort study

Setting: University laboratory

Participants: 6 women with AD scheduled for PAO (mean age=23.2±9.2)

Interventions: PAO

Main Outcome Measures: We provided participants with a commercially-available smart watch (Fitbit Ionic) to wear daily from before PAO through 4-months following PAO. We linked each participant’s device with an online data platform (Fitabase) designed specifically for wearable data. Following PAO, participants underwent standardized rehabilitation and started involved-limb weightbearing near 6 weeks following PAO (range: 4-12 weeks following PAO). We calculated average daily step volume before PAO, and at 2 weeks, 1 month, and 4 months following PAO. We used repeated-measures ANOVA to compare step volume at each time point before and after PAO.

Results: Compared to step volume before PAO (5,054±2,731 steps/day), there were significant decreases in step volume at 2 weeks following PAO (1,418±1,090 steps/day, p=.017) and at 1 month following PAO (1,525±1,365 steps/day, p=.019). There was no significant difference in step volume before PAO versus at 4 months following PAO (5,129±2,514, p=.950).

Conclusions: By 4 months following PAO, individuals with AD demonstrated a similar volume of daily steps as to that of baseline values. Using consumer-accessible activity trackers before and after PAO provides objective, continuous estimation of physical activity and walking data, and further study may provide real-world data to inform surgical outcomes and optimal timing of return to work/activity.

Author(s) Disclosures: None.