Recovery of the medial gastrocnemius muscle after calcaneus fracture differs between contractile and elastic components.

Background: Calcaneal fractures result in severe functional impairments and walking restrictions. Postoperative evaluation mainly focusses on the restoration of calcaneal anatomy while ankle plantar flexor insufficiency remains largely neglected. This study aims to investigate biomechanical and morphologic adaptions of elastic and contractile components of the gastrocnemius medialis after unilateral calcaneal fracture.

Development of the center of pressure velocity in the healing process after intra-articular calcaneus fractures.

Background: Calcaneal fractures are among the most common foot injuries and sometimes develop manifold post-surgical complications. Restricted foot movement is one of the main functional limitations which often persists during long-term rehabilitation. Therefore, it is important to quantitatively monitor the biomechanical foot mobility after calcaneal fracture from an early stage in order to achieve an optimal therapeutic treatment.

Gait characteristics and functional outcomes during early follow-up are comparable in patients with calcaneal fractures treated by either the sinus tarsi or the extended lateral approach.

Background: To overcome the substantial functional loss after calcaneal fractures (CF), surgical treatment currently consists of two strategies, namely the commonly used extended lateral approach (ELA) and the less invasive sinus tarsi approach (STA). Despite the comparable anatomical restoration, the biomechanical and functional outcome of these strategies during early rehabilitation has not yet been investigated.

Research Question: To evaluate changes in gait characteristics and functional development in patients with CF treated by either STA or ELA.

Auxiliary locking plate improves fracture stability and healing in intertrochanteric fractures fixated by intramedullary nail.

Background: Intertrochanteric fractures present a significant management challenge due to their low inherent stability. The objective of this study was to determine whether an auxiliary locking plate decreases interfragmentary motions and improves fracture healing in intertrochanteric fractures treated by intramedullary nail.

Methods: Biomechanical tests and a clinical retrospective study in intertrochanteric to subtrochanteric nonunions were performed.