Chiropractic rehabilitation in accelerated rehabilitation after total hip arthroplasty for Crowe type IV hip dysplasia

Abstract

To investigate the efficacy of chiropractic rehabilitation therapy in Crowe IV developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) patients after total hip arthroplasty. Seventy-two patients with Crowe IV type DDH hospitalized in the Department of Orthopedics I of Ya’an Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from January 2021 to June 2023 were selected for the study, and they were divided into 36 cases in the chiropractic rehabilitation therapy group (the treatment group) and 36 cases in the traditional rehabilitation therapy group (the control group) according to the method of randomized grouping. All patients were evaluated at preoperative, 1, 3, and 6 months postoperatively for follow-up, and the muscle strength of the affected limb, the patient’s walking gait, the shortened length of the affected limb, the visual analog scale score (VAS score), the Oswestry Dysfunction Index Score (ODI score), the Harris Hip Score, and the degree of pelvic tilt were recorded to evaluate the results of the study. A total of 4 subjects withdrew from the study, 2 in the treatment group, and 2 in the control group. The muscle strength of the affected limb, walking gait, shortened length of the affected limb, VAS score, ODI score, Harris score, and pelvic tilt in the treatment and control groups improved significantly compared with the preoperative period. Comparisons between the 2 groups revealed that at the final follow-up visit, the limp gait of the patients in the treatment group was significantly reduced, the shortened length of the affected limb was significantly reduced, the VAS score was significantly reduced, and the ODI score was significantly reduced, in the treatment group relative to that of the control group, Harris Hip Score was significantly improved, and the degree of pelvic tilt was significantly reduced, but the improvement in muscle strength of the affected limb was not statistically significant. In future clinical practice, we recommend that chiropractic rehabilitation be used as a routine adjunctive treatment after TKA in patients with Crowe IV DDH to optimize outcomes and improve patients’ quality of life.