Does Rehabilitation After Total Knee Arthroplasty Work? - Feasibility Trial

"The patients in this group follow prescribed (by the orthopedic surgeon) usual care municipal exercise-based rehabilitation. The content of the rehabilitation is planned in collaboration between the patient and the physical therapist, based on the offered municipal treatment options (which varies between municipalities) and patient preferences (i.e., home-based exercise, outpatient exercise, group-based exercise, or a combination thereof). The contents of the municipal services offered will be described in detail in the trial report.~A prescribed therapeutic rehabilitation exercise plan could for instance be a 6-week combined home-exercise (1-2 times/week) and group-exercise (1 time/week) intervention, followed by encouragement to continue self-administered home exercise after the 6 weeks."

"The patients in this group return to their desired pre-surgical activities, at their own speed, when they feel that they are ready for it. They are not prescribed any exercise-based rehabilitation (usual care) by their orthopedic surgeon.~This effectively means they will not receive a therapeutic progressive exercise plan; designed and prescribed to restore previous function or reducing pain or disability caused by injury, disease, or surgery - typically referred to as exercise therapy or therapeutic exercise."

"Participants in both groups receive a recovery-guide pamphlet at discharge, containing the following information: 1) Recommendations to follow DHA/WHO guidelines for physical activity, 2) Figures and tables describing common post-operative symptoms (symptom guide), and when to react (when the symptoms may require attention from a health-professional), 3) What to expect from the post-surgical period in relation to activities of daily living, 4) Common short- and long-term complications to total knee arthroplasty and 5) Trial-participant and ethics-committee information documents. Parts 2-4 are usual clinical practice, with slight variations in descriptions between sites.~After surgery, participants in both groups are encouraged to resume their desired pre-surgical activities when they feel they are able (within the limits given from the orthopedic wards)."