Results of dynamic pedobarography following surgically treated intra-articular calcaneal fractures

To investigate the clinical outcome and gait analysis findings by dynamic pedobarography in patients following surgically treated single, closed, dislocated intra-articular calcaneal fractures. Retrospective single-center study with 26 patients. The average follow-up period was 34 months (range 18-61 months). We used the Zwipp score and a score based on a visual analog scale (VAS) to assess the subjective and objective clinical outcome. Dynamic pedobarography (EMED-M, 38 x 42 cm, four sensors per square centimeter, 50 Hz; Novel GmbH., Munich, Germany) was performed to retrieve gait patterns. Analysis was performed using the Emed-Software (Novel GmbH., Munich, Germany). For the Zwipp score (+/- 200 points), the average was +54.4 points (+/- 48.2); for the VAS score (0-100 points), the average was 58.3 points (+/- 24.3). There was limited mobility in the upper and lower ankle joint. Pedobarography showed a clearly disturbed gait with increased pressure for the fractured side (157 vs. 119 kPa) in the midfoot region (71.8 vs. 68 kPa) and under fifth metatarsal bone (234 vs. 160 kPa). The gait line was lateralized. The force-time-integral (fractured vs. healthy side) showed significant differences for the medial (18 vs. 7 N s) and lateral (61 vs. 36 N s) midfoot region. We found only an average clinical outcome and clear pathological gait patterns in our cohort with lateralization of the gait line.