Immediate Versus Late Weight Bearing After Tibial Plateau Fractures Internal Fixation

Tibial plateau fractures can permanently affect patients' quality of life, including significant socio-economic impact due to time off work, compromised knee functional integrity, secondary knee osteoarthritis, knee flexion contractures, job loss due to functional limitations, and limited ability to return to pre-injury level of sports participation. Additionally, patients with tibial plateau fracture are at greater risk of death compared to an age- and the gender-matched reference population.

In orthopedics, weight-bearing refers to how much weight a person bears through an injured body part. During a single-leg stance, a person with no physical limitations will carry 100% of their body weight through each leg. Thus, grades of weight bearing are generally expressed as a percent of the body weight. Weight-bearing grades include (1) Non-weight bearing (NWB), which means the patient is not to put any weight through the affected limb(s); (2) Toe touch weight bearing (TTWB), which is poorly defined in the literature. In clinical practice, it is commonly described as having the ability to touch the toes to the floor without supporting weight from the affected limb. The pressure should be light enough to avoid crushing a potato crisp underfoot. Partial weight bearing (PWB) can range from anything greater than non-weight bearing to anything less than full weight bearing. The status is usually accompanied by a percentage figure to describe the extent of recommended weight bearing further. Most of the definitions in the literature define partial weight bearing as being 30% to 50% of a patient's body weight. Full weight bearing (FWB) means no restriction to weight bearing. In other words, 100% of a person's body weight can be transmitted through the designated limb. This term is somewhat interchangeable with the term 'weight bear as tolerated (WBAT), which allows them to self-limit their weight bearing up to full body weight. Restriction in weight bearing of the operated leg during standing and walking is needed to avoid complications during the postoperative recovery such as mal-union, fracture reduction loss, or hardware failure.

Postoperative rehabilitation for tibial plateau fracture generally involves prolonged non-weight bearing time, while other protocols use partial weight-bearing and bracing before full weight-bearing is recommended at 9 to 12 weeks following fixation. Early weight-bearing and early range of motion (ROM) for cartilage nourishment and preservation after selected lower limb surgical procedures are associated with positive postoperative outcomes, including decreased mortality and morbidity rate, functional improvements, reduced inpatient length of stay, and improved healing process. Early weight-bearing prescription, however, has to be carefully assessed, as it may result in fracture reduction loss, hardware failure, infection, malunion, or nonunion. The effectiveness of immediate partial post-operative weight-bearing in the management of lateral tibial plateau fractures resulted in favorable outcomes after immediate partial weight-bearing of 15 kg in cases of bicondylar tibial plateau fractures fixed with medial and lateral plating, and after immediate partial weight-bearing, up to 25 kg in all types of tibial plateau fractures fixed using a range of approaches.

By using locking plates for tibial plateau fracture surgical management, surgeons can safely allow immediate postoperative weight-bearing. Immediate weight bearing did not produce additional tibial plateau depression greater than 2 mm with Schatzker Type I, II, III, or Type V fractures. This could potentially reduce the rate of postoperative complications due to immobilization, such as deep venous thrombosis and joint stiffness.

Knee ROM limitations and altered gait characteristics are common complications after tibial plateau fractures. Most gait improvements occurred within the first postoperative six months. The total ROM at each lower limb joint showed positive correlations with the patients' capability to conduct normal activities of daily living.

To the authors' knowledge, no randomized control study to date has investigated in patients following tibial plateau fracture surgical fixation the effect of (1) adding immediate weight bearing to tolerance in addition to a specific, tailored exercise program adapted to the type and mechanism of tibial plateau fractures; and (2) adding phones follow-ups to improve compliance and decrease the cost of care.