Clinical-functional evaluation and test-retest reliability of the G-WALK sensor in subjects with bimalleolar ankle fractures 6 months after surgery

Abstract

Ankle fractures can cause significant functional impairment in the short and long term. In recent years, gait analysis using inertial sensors has gained special relevance as a reliable measurement system. This study aimed to evaluate the differences in spatiotemporal gait parameters and clinical- functional measurements in patients with bimalleolar ankle fracture and healthy subjects, to study the correlation between the different variables, and to analyze the test-retest reliability of a single inertial sensor in our study population. Twenty-two subjects with bimalleolar ankle fracture six months after surgery and eleven healthy subjects were included in the study. Spatiotemporal parameters were analyzed with the G-WALK sensor. Functional scales and clinical measures were collected beforehand. In the ankle fracture group, the main differences were obtained in bilateral parameters (effect size: 0.61 d 0.80). Between-group differences were found in cadence, speed, stride length, and stride time (effect size: 1.61 d 1.82). Correlation was moderate (0.436 < r < 0.554) between spatiotemporal parameters and clinical-functional measures, explaining up to 46% of gait performance. Test-retest reliability scores were high to excellent (0.84 ICC 0.98), with the worst results in the gait phases. Our study population presents evident clinicalfunctional impairments 6 months after surgery. The G-WALK can be considered a reliable tool for clinical use in this population.