Abstract
BackgroundThe main goal of physical therapy treatment (PT) in the clinical stage following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is to prepare patients for discharge from the hospital as soon as possible after their operation. Although aggressive rehabilitation is believed to be important, evidence of effects of different exercise programmes following TKA is limited. This led to the question whether the intensity of PT (once versus twice daily) following TKA affects short-term recovery, measured as range of motion.MethodsA randomised controlled trial compared an exercise regimen of two sessions per day with a similar programme administered once daily. Primary outcome measure was ROM.ResultsAt the time of hospital discharge, there was no difference between the experimental and control groups in range of motion.ConclusionThis study shows that in our setting twice daily PT sessions do not produce different results as daily PT sessions. It may be questioned whether multiple daily therapy sessions are needed as an in-hospital PT regimen in OA total knee patients.
Highlights
The main goal of physical therapy treatment (PT) in the clinical stage following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is to prepare patients for discharge from the hospital as soon as possible after their operation
Six weeks after the operation (T2) 2 patients of the control group failed to attend the follow-up measurement, data from 41 patients were available for intention to treat analyses
All participants attended the follow-up measurements at 3 months
Summary
The main goal of physical therapy treatment (PT) in the clinical stage following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is to prepare patients for discharge from the hospital as soon as possible after their operation. Aggressive rehabilitation is believed to be important, evidence of effects of different exercise programmes following TKA is limited. This led to the question whether the intensity of PT (once versus twice daily) following TKA affects short-term recovery, measured as range of motion. In 2000 a 'Joint Care' programme was implemented at the University Hospital Maastricht This is a clinical pathway in which the activities of physicians, nurses, physical therapists and other staff inside as well as outside the hospital are coordinated to provide the best overall care for patients with a particular diagnosis or procedure[1].
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