# Effect of Early Mobilization on Gait Recovery One Year After Hip Fracture Surgery: A Single-Center Cohort Study

## TL;DR

Early mobilization after hip fracture surgery improves walking independence one year later, but not full recovery to pre-injury levels.

## Contribution

Shows that early mobilization significantly increases independent walking one year post-surgery in older adults.

## Key findings

- 63.5% of patients achieved independent walking one year after surgery.
- Early mobilization was associated with 3.79 times higher odds of independent walking at one year.
- Early mobilization did not help patients return to pre-injury walking status.

## Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the effects of early mobilization on walking independence and gait recovery one year after hip fracture surgery.

Materials and methods: This cohort study included 104 patients aged ≥65 years. Patients were divided into two groups: early mobilization (EM; postoperative mobilization on the day after surgery) and late mobilization (LM; postoperative mobilization ≥2 days after surgery) groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate the effect of EM on independent walking and recovery to pre-injury walking status one year postoperatively. Independent walking was defined as a walking functional independent measure (FIM) of ≥5.

Results: The number of older patients able to walk independently at discharge and one year postoperatively after hip fracture surgery was 63 (60.6%) and 66 (63.5%), respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that EM was associated with independent walking at one year postoperatively (odds ratio, 3.79; 95% confidence interval, 1.30-11.06; P=0.001). However, EM was not associated with recovery to pre-injury walking status one year postoperatively (P=0.22).

Conclusions: Early postoperative mobilization significantly increased the likelihood of independent walking one year after hip fracture surgery in older adults. Patients who mobilized early were nearly four times more likely to achieve this outcome, underscoring the importance of EM in postoperative care. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and address barriers to implementing EM in clinical practice.