Residual impairment after lower extremity fracture.

In a prospective follow-up study of 158 consecutive patients 18 to 64 years old with unilateral lower extremity fracture, our aim was to disclose the impairment and disability 6 months after the injury. The patients were interviewed within 1 week after the trauma, and all patients returned to the hospital for an interview and a clinical assessment 6 months later. The disability was measured by administering the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP) to all patients by an interview process. SIP scores were calculated for pretraumatic and posttraumatic states. The pretraumatic SIP scores described the functional status before the injury. Additionally, three major aspects of impairments were measured 6 months after the fractures: range of motion, muscle strength, and pain. Most patients had a significantly higher SIP score 6 months after the fracture(s) than pretraumatically. The mean overall SIP score was 2.7 pretraumatically and 8.7 6 months posttraumatically. Major deficits in range of motion was observed, especially in the ankle joint. Additionally, loss of muscle strength was observed in the thigh and calf muscles in one fourth of the patients. Only low levels of residual pain were reported after 6 months.