Independent Exercise Compared With Formal Rehabilitation Following Primary Total Knee Replacement

Summary

In this study we plan to compare the efficacy of independent exercises performed by the patients at home to formal rehabilitation therapy following primary total knee replacement. Patients will be randomized to these two cohorts at enrollment into the study and followed prospectively. Patients randomized to the formal rehabilitation cohort will receive a prescription for therapy for twelve weeks. Patients randomized to the independent exercise cohort will receive online access to a twelve-week protocol of exercises to perform at home to strengthen and improve function of the replaced joint.

At enrollment, a baseline evaluation will be conducted to capture demographics, height, weight, primary diagnosis, medical comorbidities, and social supports as well as completion of the selected outcome measure, American Knee Society (AKS) Score, Knee and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS). Secondary outcomes will include the measurement of health status with use of the Short Form-12v2 (SF-12v2) and activity level with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Activity Score. At the twelve-week, six-month and twelve-month follow-up visits, the study subjects will complete the KOOS, SF-12v2, and UCLA Activity Score questionnaires. Statistical analysis will be performed to compare the outcomes between the two cohorts.

Hypothesis:

There will be no difference in outcomes between formal rehabilitation and independent exercises at twelve months after primary total knee replacement surgery using the American Knee Society (AKS) Knee Score.

Conditions

• Recovery Following Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty

Interventions

PROCEDURE

Formal Rehabilitation Therapy

Patients that will be randomized to the formal rehabilitation therapy cohort will be prescribed formal therapy for twelve weeks with supervised exercises to regain knee strength and range of motion. Therapists will not be involved in the study design and therapists will not be informed that patients are participating in this study. The content, frequency, and duration of the rehabilitation program will be at the discretion of the treating therapist, consistent with usual practice.

PROCEDURE

Independent Exercise Cohort

The patients who will be in the independent exercises cohort will be registered on www.careforpatients.com, an online rehabilitation resource that provides computer aided rehabilitative exercises. Patients will follow a prepared 12-week protocol of exercises to perform post-operatively to gradually regain their knee strength, flexion, extension, abduction, and adduction.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of California, San Francisco

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Kevin J. Bozic, MD, MBA · University of California, San Francisco

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2014-07-31

Primary Completion

2015-10-23

Completion

2015-10-23

Countries

• United States

Study Locations