Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate preoperative and post-operative locomotive syndrome (LS) in older adults undergoing surgical treatment for musculoskeletal diseases of the lumbar spine and lower extremities and identify risk factors that impede LS improvement after surgery.
Methods: The baseline evaluation included 471 patients 65 years or older [276 in the pre-old-age (65-74 years) group; 195 in the old-age (75 years or older) group] and examined the preoperative and post-operative LS data. The second evaluation performed to identify risk factors, including anthropometric measurements, comorbidity, and frailty, that hinder LS improvement after surgery included 378 patients with preoperative LS Stage 3.
Results: Preoperatively, 80% of the patients had LS Stage 3; this rate decreased to 40% post-operatively. Half of the patients exhibited post-operative LS improvement. The LS improvement rate was higher in the pre-old-age group than in the old-age group. According to the multiple logistic regression analysis, old age, high body mass index, weak hand grip strength, and high 5-factor modified frailty index score were significant risk factors that hinder LS improvement after surgery.
Conclusions: Ageing, obesity, weak muscle strength, and frailty can hinder LS improvement in older patients who undergo surgery.
Keywords: Improvement; locomotive syndrome; musculoskeletal disease; risk factor; surgery.
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