Abstract
Objectives
To investigate the association between active knee flexion at initial (1–2wk) and
final (7wk) outpatient visits after total knee arthroplasty (TKA), and to develop
a guide for the expected progression of knee flexion in the subacute postoperative
phase.
Design
Prospective case series.
Setting
Rehabilitation clinic.
Participants
Consecutive sample of patients (N=108) who underwent TKA between December 2007 and
August 2012.
Intervention
TKA followed by a standardized, 5-week outpatient rehabilitation program (2 sessions
per week) immediately after hospital discharge.
Main Outcome Measure
Active knee flexion was recorded on the patient's first outpatient visit (1–2wk) and
then biweekly throughout the patient's 5-week outpatient rehabilitation program.
Results
Active knee flexion at initial (1–2wk) and final (7wk) outpatient visits were significantly
correlated (r=.86, P<.001). Mean active knee flexion significantly improved (P<.001) across all patients from 90.4° at initial outpatient visit to 110° at final
outpatient visit. At 7 weeks postsurgery, a value of 100° was determined as the cut-off
point for an acceptable active knee flexion, which corresponded with 80° of active
knee flexion at initial outpatient presentation at 1 to 2 weeks.
Conclusions
Active knee flexion at the initial outpatient visit exhibits a strong correlation
with knee flexion at 7 weeks after TKA. These knee flexion guidelines may allow for
the provision of individualized rehabilitation, allow practitioners to provide patients
with realistic goals of progression throughout the subacute phase, and allow the early
identification of patients at risk for poor long-term outcomes who may benefit from
further intensive care or other early intervention.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
OA (osteoarthritis), ROM (range of motion), TKA (total knee arthroplasty)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 05, 2014
Footnotes
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has conferred or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
