Effect of Anti-gravity Treadmill Training After Total Hip Arthroplasty

NCT07170215 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: THR-2025
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 34
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Background/Objectives: Total hip arthroplasty is one of the most common orthopedic procedures. When the surgery is successful and followed by high-quality physiotherapy, patients' quality of life usually improves and they return to their daily activities more qui-ckly.. Rehabilitation methods and medical devices are constantly evolving, to accelerate functional improvement. The aim of the study is to investigate the impact of the antigra-vity treadmill on the functional outcomes after total hip arthroplasty. Methods: A single centre, randomised, controlled, open label trial was conduct in Hospital for Medical Re-habilitation of the Heart and Lung Diseases and Rheumatism Thalassotherapia Opatija. 34 subjects were randomly divided into two groups: experimental (18) and control (16). The outcome measures included strength of the abductor muscles, range of motion, visual analogue scale, and Timed Up and Go test and 40-meter Fast Paced Walk test.

Conditions

Osteoarthritis, Hip

Keywords

pain; functional mobility; muscle strenght; total hip arthroplasty; THA

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• hip abductor muscle strength

  The effects of the antigravity treadmill on hip abductor muscle strength was the primary outcome.

  From enrollment to the end of treatment was 3 weeks.

Study Arms (2)

experimental group (EG)

EXPERIMENTAL

Each session included 25 minutes of individualized therapeutic exercises focused on bre-athing, mobility, strength, and balance. In addition, participants received 25 minutes of electrical stimulation of the quadriceps femoris muscle and 25 minutes of hydrotherapy in a swimming pool, for a total of 75 minutes of therapy per session. The experimental group (EG) also completed 20 minutes of daily exercise on an antigravity treadmill (ALTERG VIA, Lifeward CA, Inc., Milmont Drive, Fremont, CA, USA), supervised by a physiothera-pist

Device: antigravity treadmill (ALTERG VIA, Lifeward CA, Inc., Milmont Drive, Fremont, CA, U-SA)

control group (CG)

NO INTERVENTION

Each session inclu-ded 25 minutes of individualized therapeutic exercises focused on breathing, mobility, strength, and balance. In addition, participants received 25 minutes of electrical stimula-tion of the quadriceps femoris muscle and 25 minutes of hydrotherapy in a swimming pool, for a total of 75 minutes of therapy per session.

Interventions

antigravity treadmill (ALTERG VIA, Lifeward CA, Inc., Milmont Drive, Fremont, CA, U-SA) DEVICE

Antigravity treadmill training in the experimental group (EG) involved walking in a straight line at a self-selected, com-fortable pace-without running, shortness of breath, or pain. The treadmill's chamber was set to reduce the participant's effective body weight to 20% of their actual body weight (slight unloading was applied to reduce the need for handrail support and to prevent the use of compensatory mechanisms).

experimental group (EG)

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Rijeka: lead

Study Sites (1)

University Hospital Thalassotherapia Opatija

Rijeka, 51000, Croatia

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Osteoarthritis, Hip; Pain

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Osteoarthritis; Arthritis; Joint Diseases; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Rheumatic Diseases; Neurologic Manifestations; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Masking Details: Masking was not possible.
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assist. prof

Model Details: Patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups: the experimental group (EG) (n = 18) received antigravity treadmill therapy in combination with a standard rehabilita-tion protocol and the control group (CG) (n = 16) followed only the conventional rehabili-tation protocol.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 5, 2025
• First Posted: September 12, 2025
• Study Start: January 15, 2023
• Primary Completion: July 30, 2023
• Study Completion: July 30, 2023
• Last Updated: September 12, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CR (1)