Muscle function after plated and nailed femoral shaft fractures.

We studied retrospectively 14 patients who had been nailed and 12 patients who had been plated for femoral shaft fractures respectively 37 and 67 months previously. Isokinetic thigh muscle function measurements showed quadriceps strength to be fully restored in nailed patients, while there was a moderate persisting median deficit among plated patients. There was a similar moderate deficit in flexion strength for both groups. Strength restoration did not correlate with age at fracture or fracture level in the femur. It did, however, correlate strongly with the interval between fracture and study for flexion strength among nailed patients. It may be that this parameter also is eventually normalized in nailed patients.