Return to Physical Activities after Scarf Osteotomy for Hallux Valgus.

BACKGROUND: Scarf osteotomy is an effective method of surgical treatment of hallux valgus. The final im-pact of the procedure on patients' physical activity has not been assessed so far. Our goals were to evaluate sports and physical activities in patients following the Scarf osteotomy and to compare these with clinical outcomes.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 79 patients who were treated for hallux valgus with a Scarf osteotomy in 2015-2016. The average age in the examined group at the time of surgery was 55.43 (± 11.97) years, while the follow-up was on average 3.13 (± 0.42) years. Physical activity was measured using the UCLA - Activity Score and Author's Sport Specific Questionnaire. Clinical outcomes were evaluated with the Ame-rican Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Score (AOFAS HMI) and compared to sports outcomes.

RESULTS: After the procedure, the frequency of undertaking physical activity increased by about 21% (p = 0.0005) and the time spent by patients during the week on sports (minutes per week) increase by about 19% (p = 0.005). The result of the UCLA - Activity Score after surgery increased by an average of about 4.7% (p = 0.016). The average satisfaction with the result of the surgery was 8.2 (1-10 scale). The majority of patients (67%) were able to maintain the amount of physical activity after the surgery and few patients (24%) were able to increase this amount.

CONCLUSION: The study suggests that Scarf osteotomy has a positive effect on the ability of patients with hallux valgus to return to sport and physical activity.