Short or long fusion after thoracolumbar burst XXXX does not alter selected gait parameters: a preliminary study.

@entity1 @entity174
We evaluated the gait characteristics of @entity1 who had short or long-segment fusion after thoracolumbar burst @entity174 . The study included 12 @entity1 (5 male, 7 female) who had vertebral fusion after traumatic thoracolumbar region (T12-L2) burst @entity174 . @entity1 were divided into two groups based on fixation type (short or long segment). Twelve healthy age and sex-matched subjects (seven male, five female) served as controls. Quantitative gait data, including all time-distance (walking velocity, cadence, step time, step length, double support time), kinematic (joint rotation angles of pelvis, hip, knee, and ankle), and kinetic data (moments of hip in sagittal and coronal plane) were collected. Three @entity1 had a T12, six @entity1 an L1, and three @entity1 had an L2 lesion. @entity1 in the two groups were similar in terms of age, sex, and time since operation. No significant differences were found in the time-distance, kinematic, and kinetic gait characteristics between the two groups. This preliminary study reveals that the gait characteristics of @entity1 with short and long-segment fusion after thoracolumbar burst @entity174 were similar to those of healthy subjects and did not differ from each other. However, the present results should be interpreted with caution due to the small sample size. Future studies with larger groups are needed to provide additional data to validate these findings.
