[kellyb]

#28521

My husband suffered a fracture to his L3 vertebrae in 1980. As a result of back pain, he had an altered gate (walk) wherein he “waddled” side to side. This went on for many years and he eventually had to have total hip replacement surgery (2006) on both hips — diagnosed with advanced AO Osteoarthritis and severe hip pain. It was noted that he had a variance of 1.5 cm in leg length (pre-surgery) as well. We are working with the VA and they are asking that we provide medical research supporting what we have been told by our orthopedic surgeon in that he believes that my husband’s hip condition (asymptomatic to symptomatic) was exacerbated by his altered gate which was a result of his back injury which he suffered while in military service. Any help would be appreciated.

[Donald Corenman, MD, DC]

#28522

Altered gait can change biomechanics of the hip to cause degeneration but it is case-by-case dependent. It would be more unusual to have both hips degenerate at the same time with altered gait. An L3 fracture can cause neurological injury but that would be quadriceps femorus weakness which might cause knee degeneration. Again, I can’t give you a blanket statement that insures that an L3 fracture will cause degeneration of the hip, especially in a congenitally deformed set of hips.

Dr. Corenman

PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.
 
Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.

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