Fragility Fracture Network Position on Unrestricted Weight-Bearing After Hip Fracture Surgery

Ruqayyah Turabi; Frede Frihagen; Rhona McGlasson; David Wyatt; Alex Trompeter; Lauren Beaupre; Luiz Fernando Cocco; Matthew Costa; José Luis Dinamarca-Montecinos; Juan Carlos Viveros-García; Jae-Young Lim; Joon-Kiong Lee; Hui Min Khor; Cristina Ojeda-Thies; Monica Perracini; Takeshi Sawaguchi; Julie Switzer; Irewin Tabu; Ronald Man Yeung Wong; Wei Mao; Katie Jane Sheehan

doi:10.1177/21514593251351136

Fragility Fracture Network Position on Unrestricted Weight-Bearing After Hip Fracture Surgery

Geriatr Orthop Surg Rehabil. 2025 Jul 1:16:21514593251351136. doi: 10.1177/21514593251351136. eCollection 2025.

Authors

Ruqayyah Turabi^{1

2}, Frede Frihagen^{3

4}, Rhona McGlasson⁵, David Wyatt¹, Alex Trompeter⁶, Lauren Beaupre⁷, Luiz Fernando Cocco⁸, Matthew Costa⁹, José Luis Dinamarca-Montecinos¹⁰, Juan Carlos Viveros-García¹¹, Jae-Young Lim¹², Joon-Kiong Lee¹³, Hui Min Khor¹⁴, Cristina Ojeda-Thies^{15

16}, Monica Perracini¹⁷, Takeshi Sawaguchi¹⁸, Julie Switzer¹⁹, Irewin Tabu²⁰, Ronald Man Yeung Wong²¹, Wei Mao²², Katie Jane Sheehan²³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Population Health Sciences, School of Life Course and Population Sciences, King's College London, UK.
² Department of Physical Therapy, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Jazan University, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Østfold Hospital Trust, Grålum, Norway.
⁴ Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway.
⁵ Fragility Fracture Network.
⁶ City St George's, University of London, St George's University Hospital, UK.
⁷ Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
⁸ Fragility Fracture Network Brasil (FFN Brazil), Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil.
⁹ Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford, UK.
¹⁰ Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Valparaíso, Chile.
¹¹ Hospital Regional ISSSTE Léon, Guanajuato, Mexico.
¹² Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
¹³ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Beacon Hospital, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.
¹⁴ Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
¹⁵ Department of Traumatology and Orthopedic Surgery, Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain.
¹⁶ Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain.
¹⁷ Programa em Fisioterapia, Universidade Cidade de São Paulo, Brazil.
¹⁸ Department of Traumatology, Fukushima Medical University, Japan.
¹⁹ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, USA.
²⁰ University of the Philippines Manila, Manila, Philippines.
²¹ Department of Orthopaedics & Traumatology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China.
²² Department of Orthopaedics, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China.
²³ Bone and Joint Health, Blizard Institute, Queen Mary University of London, UK.

Abstract

Objectives: This position paper from the Fragility Fracture Network (FFN) responds to the observed global variation in weight-bearing prescriptions after hip fracture surgery in older adults.

Methods: The paper summarises current guidelines and evidence regarding unrestricted weight-bearing after hip fracture surgery.

Results: The synthesis of available evidence supports the endorsement of unrestricted weight-bearing after surgery to enhance patient outcomes.

Conclusion: The FFN endorses unrestricted weight-bearing and recommends healthcare professionals, institutions, and policymakers re-evaluate practices favouring limited or non-weight-bearing prescriptions and establish a standardised system for monitoring and auditing, with clear justification and documentation of any restrictions.

Keywords: hip fracture; international collaboration; orthogeriatric care; rehabilitation; weight-bearing.