Using In-Shoe Inertial Measurement Unit Sensors to Understand Daily-Life Gait Characteristics in Patients With Distal Radius Fractures During 6 Months of Recovery: Cross-Sectional Study

Background A distal radius fracture (DRF) is a common initial fragility fracture among women in their early postmenopausal period, which is associated with an increased risk of subsequent fractures. Gait assessments are valuable for evaluating fracture risk; inertial measurement units (IMUs) have been widely used to assess gait under free-living conditions. However, little is known about long-term changes in patients with DRF, especially concerning daily-life gait. We hypothesized that, in the long term, the daily-life gait parameters in patients with DRF could enable us to reveal future risk factors for falls and fractures. Objective This study assessed the spatiotemporal characteristics of patients with DRF at 4 weeks and 6 months of recovery. Methods We recruited 16 women in their postmenopausal period with DRF as their first fragility fracture (mean age 62.3, SD 7.0 years) and 28 matched healthy controls (mean age 65.6, SD 8.0 years). Daily-life gait assessments and physical assessments, such as hand grip strength (HGS), were performed using an in-shoe IMU sensor. Participants’ results were compared with those of the control group, and their recovery was assessed for 6 months after the fracture. Results In the fracture group, at 4 weeks after DRF, lower foot height in the swing phase (P=.049) and higher variability of stride length (P=.03) were observed, which improved gradually. However, the dorsiflexion angle in the fracture group tended to be lower consistently during 6 months (at 4 weeks: P=.06; during 6 months: P=.07). As for the physical assessments, the fracture group showed lower HGS at all time points (at 4 weeks: P<.001; during 6 months: P=.04), despite significant improvement at 6 months (P<.001). Conclusions With an in-shoe IMU sensor, we discovered the recovery of spatiotemporal gait characteristics 6 months after DRF surgery without the participants’ awareness. The consistently unchanged dorsiflexion angle in the swing phase and lower HGS could be associated with fracture risk, implying the high clinical importance of appropriate interventions for patients with DRF to prevent future fractures. These results could be applied to a screening tool for evaluating the risk of falls and fractures, which may contribute to constructing a new health care system using wearable devices in the near future.