Analysis of the gait of adults who had residua of congenital dysplasia of the hip.

Twenty-one adult subjects who had symptomatic residua of unilateral congenital dysplasia of the hip, with various degrees of degenerative changes, were studied with respect to the physical and radiographic findings and gait performance. Three-dimensional body reconstruction; the Trendelenburg sign; spatiotemporal parameters of stride; ground-reaction forces; kinematics of the hip, knee, and ankle; moments of forces; and joint powers were evaluated bilaterally. The kinematic and kinetic parameters of the affected limb were compared with those of the unaffected limb and with those of the limbs of normal control subjects. Correlations between changes in selected gait parameters and the clinical and radiographic signs of impairment of the hip were demonstrated. The results are discussed in relation to the possible mechanisms underlying the observed alterations and in view of possible operative interventions.