Overview

Purpose: Proximal femur fracture is a major traumatic injury in elderly populations; however, practical postoperative weight-bearing protocols are lacking. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate whether early weight-bearing status after proximal femur nail fixation is associated with any loss of reduction and evaluate the clinical outcomes of this intervention.

Patients and methods:

For this prospective single-center clinical trial study, we recruited 60 geriatric proximal femur fracture cases, classified by AO/OTA 2018, receiving intramedullary nail fixation. The participants were assigned to the Early-weight-bearing group (n= 30) or the Weight-bearing restriction group (n = 30). Clinical outcomes included the Harris functional hip score and VAS pain score. Additionally, demographic data, radiological parameters, time to weight-bearing, mortality rate, medical and surgical complications, and final ambulation status were recorded.

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients with AO/OTA type 31 fractures were included, and all fractures were classified using intraoperative fluoroscopy with traction on the fracture table.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with pathological fractures, neurovascular insufficiency, ipsilateral lower extremity musculoskeletal injury, multiple fractures, or high risk of falling, including frequent falling accidents within 6 months, unsteady gait, ipsilateral neuropathy, limb weakness, and urinary incontinence were excluded.