The 'Entlastungsgang'. A hip unloading gait as a new conservative therapy for hip pain in the adult.

'Entlastungsgang' is a gait modification aiming to unload the hip joint by producing a modified Duchenne-limp (straight spinal column, additional lifting of the pelvis on the side of the swinging leg and a consecutive side shift of the pelvis) and a wide stance gait. Sixteen patients suffering from hip pain caused mainly by hip dysplasia were investigated. They received daily gait training for 12 h combined with intensive physical therapy as in-patients for 3-4 weeks. The external muscle torque acting on the hip joint was determined by 3D-gait analysis before, during and after the gait training. We found a reduction of the muscle torque after gait training to 77.2% of the initial value. At an average follow up of 12 months we found a persisting reduction of the muscle torque to 87. 0% at spontaneous gait that was further reduced to 81.3% of the initial value. The hip score for two components of the Merle d'Aubigne and Postel score for pain and walking was significantly improved from 7.4 to 10.8 points.