gms | German Medical Science

Objectives: This study examines the effect of age, gender, Body Mass Index (BMI), and the degree of osteoarthritis on the timing of Return to Sport (RTS) after periacetabular osteotomy (PAO). Previous research, which has been primarily descriptive and retrospective, lacks a comprehensive causal analysis of these factors on RTS. Therefore, this study aims to investigate how specific patient characteristics impact both the timing and likelihood of successfully returning to sports after PAO.

Methods: Our prospective, monocentric study (2019–2022) included patients who underwent PAO +/- femoral osteochondroplasty for hip dysplasia, performed by a single surgeon. The study's inclusion criteria required prospective preoperative data collection and at least a 12-month follow-up. Exclusion criteria included diagnoses other than hip dysplasia or additional interventions for femoral torsion pathologies. The data collected included age, gender, BMI, and osteoarthritis degree (Tönnis classification), with a focus on the timing of RTS postoperatively. The relationships between RTS and preoperative factors were analyzed using Spearman's rank correlation (GraphPad Prism 10.0.2). Ethical approval and informed consent were obtained.

Results and conclusion: In our study of 237 patients who underwent PAO, the timing of RTS varied. 12 patients did not return for the 12-month follow-up. 41 patients returned within 6-12 months, 80 patients returned within 3–6 months, and 102 patients returned in less than 3 months. The cohort consisted of 42 men and 195 women. The average age of the cohort was 31.91 years(±8.59), and the average BMI was 24.38 kg/m² (±4.32). Statistical analysis did not reveal any significant correlation between RTS and age (Spearman r = 0.025, ns). No significant correlation was found between RTS and the degree of osteoarthritis (r = 0.014, ns). However, a significant negative correlation was found between RTS and BMI (r = -0.22, p = 0.0007), indicating that patients with lower BMI tended to return to sports more quickly. Additionally, a significant difference in RTS based on gender was observed (r = -0.1882, p = 0.0038), with men returning to sports more quickly than women. Therefore, it can be concluded that BMI and gender are important factors to consider when predicting RTS.

The study’s findings emphasize the impact of BMI and gender on recovery and return to sports after PAO. The absence of a correlation with age and the degree of osteoarthritis suggests that these factors may not be as crucial in predicting RTS as previously believed. The study highlights the importance of personalized rehabilitation plans that consider individual patient characteristics, particularly BMI and gender, to optimize recovery times. These insights could assist clinicians in establishing more precise expectations for patients’ return to sports activities after surgery. Further research should concentrate on comprehending the underlying causes of these disparities and creating customized rehabilitation approaches.