There is insufficient evidence from randomised trials to establish the best strategies for enhancing mobility after hip fracture surgery.
Neuromuscular stimulation of the quadriceps muscle after hip fracture: a randomized controlled trial.
To study the feasibility and effect of neuromuscular stimulation on recovery of mobility after surgical fixation for hip fracture.
                Double-blind study with stratified randomization.
                Home-based rehabilitation program.
                Twenty-four women over the age of 75 years with hip fracture.
                Neuromuscular or placebo stimulation of the quadriceps muscle of the fractured leg, applied for 3 hours a day, for 6 weeks, commencing 1 week after surgery.
                Recovery of walking speed and ability, postural stability, lower-limb muscle power, and pain at 7 and 13 weeks after surgery.
                Women in the neuromuscular stimulation group showed faster recovery of mobility. Of the women receiving stimulation, 9 of 12 recovered their prior levels of indoor mobility ability by 13 weeks compared with 3 of 12 in the placebo group (Fisher exact test, P=.046). There were no differences in recovery of walking speed in the first 7 weeks, but women in the stimulation group had greater recovery between 7 and 13 weeks (mean difference=-.13m/s; 95% confidence interval, -.23 to -.01).
                Neuromuscular stimulation at home is feasible and may be effective in speeding recovery of mobility after surgical fixation of hip fracture.
                Copyright 2002 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation