Visual Feedback-Based Rehabilitation Improves Gait Recovery After Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial
In brief
Visual feedback training improved gait and pelvic control after hip replacement
In a randomized trial, patients receiving visual feedback training plus standard physiotherapy for 6 weeks improved more in walking speed, cadence, symmetry, and pelvic movement than those receiving standard therapy alone. Pain and functional scores improved similarly in both groups, so whether better gait measurements translate into greater everyday function remains unclear.
- Journal
- JB & JS open access (Q1)
- Published
- 15 October 2026
- Study design
- Randomized controlled trial
- Evidence level
- Level 1, High (CEBM 1b)
- Authors
- Riccardo Spanò, Antonio Ammendolia, Nicola Marotta, Alessandro de Sire, Maria Girolama Raso, Simone Carozzo
- PMID
- 42857812
- DOI
- 10.2106/JBJS.OA.26.00065
Why clinicians should know about it
- Picked for Orthopedics and Sports Medicine (paper of the day, 12 October 2026): Visual feedback rehab improved gait after THA
Abstract
BACKGROUND: This randomized controlled trial investigated whether adding a visual feedback-based (VFB) rehabilitation program to standard care could enhance gait performance and pelvic kinematics in patients recovering from total hip arthroplasty (THA). METHODS: Inpatients aged 55 to 80 years who underwent unilateral THA by a lateral approach were randomized to either a VFB group or a control group. The VFB group received 30 minutes of technology-assisted visual feedback training using TecnoBody systems plus 30 minutes of conventional physiotherapy daily, while the control group received one hour of conventional therapy alone, both 5 days per week for 6 weeks. Gait and pelvic kinematics were assessed using the G-WALK inertial sensor at baseline and after 6 weeks, alongside clinical measures for pain, functional independence, and ambulation capacity. RESULTS: Both groups showed significant improvements on clinical scales, with no meaningful differences between them. However, the VFB group demonstrated significantly greater gains in key gait and kinematic parameters, including cadence, speed, symmetry, pelvic tilt, and pelvic obliquity, with multivariate analysis confirming a distinct and more favorable post-treatment kinematic profile. CONCLUSION: Incorporating visual feedback-based training into postoperative rehabilitation after THA leads to superior improvements in gait quality and pelvic control compared with conventional therapy alone, supporting its clinical integration in standard physiotherapy programs. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic Level I. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Abstract as published, via PubMed.
For healthcare professionals. The summary is generated by AI from the published abstract, and the evidence level is assigned automatically from the study design on the Oxford CEBM hierarchy. Neither is medical advice. Read the full paper before changing practice.