Tactile Incentiviser Improves Partial Weight Bearing After Lower-Limb Surgery

A 3-mm rubber insole containing four 15-mm spring-steel snap buttons aligned along the heel-mid-foot axis. Each insole is statically calibrated on a hydraulic press so that the buttons collapse at 20 % ± 1 % of the individual's body weight, producing an unmistakable plantar cue when the load limit is exceeded. The device is purely mechanical, requires no batteries, and is fitted on postoperative day 1. Participants wear the insole during every supervised walking session until discharge (≈ 14 days).

Routine inpatient physiotherapy consisting of verbal instruction to limit loading to 20 % body weight, initial bathroom-scale training, and assisted ambulation with walker or crutches. No tactile, visual, or electronic feedback device is provided. Session frequency, walking aids, analgesia, and discharge criteria are identical to the intervention arm; duration ≈ 14 days.