Pre-surgery exercise program significantly improved knee replacement recovery

March 11, 2013 — Knee osteoarthritis patients who engaged in Thera-Band elastic resistance exercise prior to knee replacement surgery generated higher quality of life scores three months following surgery compared to population norms.

A team of researchers from Bellarmine University and Marquette University recently evaluated the effectiveness of an eight-week Thera-Band prehab program on 18 knee osteoarthritis patients three months after total knee replacement surgery, also known as total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The patients were randomly assigned to an exercise or control (no exercise) group. Three months after surgery, the patients were evaluated for their quality of life using the SF-36 measurement tool.¹

Patients in the exercise group showed significantly better quality of life results in all eight domains of the SF-36 compared to population norms. The exercise group also had significantly better scores in the physical functioning domain, which measures activities such as lifting, walking, bending, kneeling, and climbing stairs. Click here to view the exercise protocol.

“The findings of this study are consistent with other clinical trials conducted by this team that have indicated that patients who engage in a Thera-Band prehab program prior to TKA surgery realize an accelerated recovery following TKA surgery,” stated Robert Topp, RN, PhD associate dean for research, Marquette University.

Source: Performance Health, theraband.com

Reference

¹Brown, K et al. 2012. Prehabilitation and quality of life three months after total knee arthroplasty: a pilot study. Perceptual and Motor Skills: Physical Development and Measurement. 155(3):1-10.

*The SF-36 is a multi-purpose, short-form health survey. It yields an 8-scale profile of functional health and well-being scores as well as psychometrically-based physical and mental health summary measures and a preference-based health utility index. It is a generic measure, as opposed to one that targets a specific age, disease, or treatment group. http://www.sf-36.org/

Disclosure: This study was supported by Thera-Band Academy