A systematic review published in The Journal of Orthopedic Surgery and Research demonstrated that early weight bearing may be considered efficacious and safe in selected cases after internal fixation for tibial plateau fractures.  Gianluca Canton et al. aimed to investigate the current clinical evidence on the risks and benefits of early weight bearing following internal fixation for fracture.

Databases like Google Scholar and PubMed were searched to find out case reports, randomized controlled trials, prospective and retrospective observational studies. Data extraction was done by 2 reviewers. The collected data were compared for verifying the agreement. The literature search yielded 360 papers (186 papers from Google Scholar and 174 papers from PubMed).

After exclusion, 9 papers were finally incorporated in the review. In few cases, early weight bearing was found to be effective and safe. However, for the accurate evaluation of safety of early weight bearing, longer clinical trials are warranted with a greater number of participants and that more clearly specify the indications or limitations of early weight bearing protocols.