The effect of hip arthroplasty on the speed of walking.

Osteoarthritis of the hip presents itself with gait disturbances, such as decreased speed of walking and limp, regardless of the presence of pain. In most cases, patients decide to undergo surgical procedure as a result of pain and walking difficulties. The purpose of this study was to analyze gait speed in a group of 86 patients who have undergone hip arthroplasty. The methodology has consisted of analysis of walking speed over a distance of 20 meters performed prior to and following surgical treatment. The results indicated that, in most cases, surgical treatment was associated with significant improvement in the speed of walking.