Assessment of Postoperative Hip Abductor Muscle Strength and Functional Outcomes: A Comparative Study between Dynamic Hip Screw and Proximal Femoral Nail for Intertrochanteric Fractures

The present study assessing the Postoperative Hip Abductor Muscle Strength and Functional Outcomes. Extracapsular intertrochanteric femur fractures occur between femoral neck and lesser trochanter of the femur. Intertrochanteric fracture shows high rate of fracture union because intertrochanteric femur area is made of cancelleous bone which is rich in blood supply. All the patients with ≥ 18yrs of age and were operated for intertrochanteric femur fracture between July 2022 to December 2022 were approached. Any patients with history of surgery in the ipsilateral hip or contralateral hip, polytrauma, unstable Intertrochanteric fracture or OA of hip joint were excluded from the study. On the principles of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) prevention, strengthening exercises, ROM exercises and gait training the patients were given physiotherapy. Once weight bearing was allowed on 6 weeks, their gait parameters (stride length, cadence), functional strength (Unilateral stance test) and Harris Hip Score were measured. The same outcome measures along with the strength of hip abductor muscle were repeated at 6 months as femoral offset is important for restoring anatomy. The study findings revealed that the muscle strength of the operated limb in the geriatric patients having ≥ 70 yrs does not reach to its contralateral sound limb. In conclusion, patients with unrestored femoral offset exhibited weak strength of hip abductor muscle. Patients with Dynamic Hip Screw fixation showed better results than other surgeries in young patients.