Patients with similar injuries who were at a similar level of function before the injury differ in the extent of recovery. In an attempt to identify important factors that affect recovery, we collected extensive physical, psychological and sociological data on a group of 108 elderly people with fractures of the hip in order to study the influence of the many variables on their recovery. We found that of all the items studied, those that best indicated the degree of recovery were: (1) the physical therapist's rating of functional ability; (2) how often the patient got outside the home prior to injury; (3) the patient's mental clarity.