Use of auditory feedback to improve a patients compliance with partial weight bearing

After surgery or injury of the lower extremity, partial weight bearing (PWB) is often instructed to the patient. However it is very difficult for patients to comply with given PWB instructions. Currently available methods to improve a patient's PWB compliance are either insufficient or too expensive. The cheap and portable Auditory biofeedback device tested in this study, can give feedback about a patient's weight bearing during walking. It will be investigated whether it is feasible to improve a patient's PWB compliance with help of the ABF device. In case feedback from the ABF device can indeed improve a patient's PWB compliance, the device can also be used at home, due to the low costs of the device. Then a large scale RCT can be performed to investigate the effect of PWB after surgery on the rehabilitation process. All future patients to whom PWB is instructed, will benefit from this knowledge.

Use of the auditory biofeedback device, will improve partial weight bearing compliance

Two weeks after surgery the first session will be conducted.

Three weeks after surgery the second session will be conducted.

In this study an auditory biofeedback (ABF) device, giving feedback about partial weight bearing (PWB) to the paient will be tested. The device consists out of a measurement insole embedded in a sandal. Via a bluetooth connection this insole is connected to a smartphone. When the patient applies too much or too little force on his/her limb an auditory signal is given by the smartphone. To test whether an ABF device can improve a patient's PWB complicance 2 groups of 10 patients will be formed. the "feeback group" will receive feedback by an auditory signal from the ABF device. The control group will wear the ABF device as well but will not receive feedback from it. All patients will enroll in two sessions to test repeatability.