BackgroundRehabilitation, with an emphasis on physiotherapy and exercise, is widely promoted after total knee replacement. However, provision of services varies in content and duration. The aim of this study is to update the review of Minns Lowe and colleagues 2007 using systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of post-discharge physiotherapy exercise in patients with primary total knee replacement.MethodsWe searched MEDLINE, Embase, PsycInfo, CINAHL and Cochrane CENTRAL to October 4th 2013 for randomised evaluations of physiotherapy exercise in adults with recent primary knee replacement.Outcomes were: patient-reported pain and function, knee range of motion, and functional performance. Authors were contacted for missing data and outcomes. Risk of bias and heterogeneity were assessed. Data was combined using random effects meta-analysis and reported as standardised mean differences (SMD) or mean differences (MD).ResultsSearches identified 18 randomised trials including 1,739 patients with total knee replacement. Interventions compared: physiotherapy exercise and no provision; home and outpatient provision; pool and gym-based provision; walking skills and more general physiotherapy; and general physiotherapy exercise with and without additional balance exercises or ergometer cycling.Compared with controls receiving minimal physiotherapy, patients receiving physiotherapy exercise had improved physical function at 3–4 months, SMD −0.37 (95% CI −0.62, −0.12), and pain, SMD −0.45 (95% CI −0.85, −0.06). Benefit up to 6 months was apparent when considering only higher quality studies.There were no differences for outpatient physiotherapy exercise compared with home-based provision in physical function or pain outcomes. There was a short-term benefit favouring home-based physiotherapy exercise for range of motion flexion.There were no differences in outcomes when the comparator was hydrotherapy, or when additional balancing or cycling components were included. In one study, a walking skills intervention was associated with a long-term improvement in walking performance. However, for all these evaluations studies were under-powered individually and in combination.ConclusionAfter recent primary total knee replacement, interventions including physiotherapy and exercise show short-term improvements in physical function. However this conclusion is based on meta-analysis of a few small studies and no long-term benefits of physiotherapy exercise interventions were identified. Future research should target improvements to long-term function, pain and performance outcomes in appropriately powered trials.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12891-015-0469-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background. Total hip replacement (THR) and total knee replacement (TKR) are two common elective orthopaedic procedures, and the provision of physiotherapy for patients after discharge is variable, with evidence for best practice remaining uncertain. Aims and objectives. To determine the standard physiotherapy service offered to patients following discharge after THR and TKR. Methods. A telephone survey was carried with clinicians at 24 high-volume NHS orthopaedic centres in England and Wales. Information was gathered on standard physiotherapy provision and categorized into; no routine physiotherapy, outpatient physiotherapy (including one-to-one and group), home-based physiotherapy or other physiotherapy (including telephone consultation and drop-in services). Results. No centres surveyed referred patients to outpatient physiotherapy as a routine pathway of care following THR. Eleven centres provided group physiotherapy to patients after discharge following TKR compared with five centres providing one-to-one outpatient physiotherapy. Conclusion. The provision of physiotherapy following discharge after TKR is a more common practice than after THR, where ongoing physiotherapy is provided depending upon clinical need. Group exercises are the favoured destination for patients following TKR in high-volume centres.

General rightsThis document is made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the reference above. Full terms of use are available: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/pure/about/ebr-terms PROGRAMME GRANTS FOR APPLIED RESEARCH VOLUME 4 ISSUE 12 AUGUST 2016 ISSN 2050 DOI 10.3310/pgfar04120Improving patients' experience and outcome of total joint replacement: the RESTORE programme Ashley W Blom, Neil Artz, Andrew D Beswick, Amanda Burston, Paul Dieppe, Karen T Elvers, Rachael Gooberman-Hill, Jeremy Horwood, Paul Jepson, Emma Johnson, Erik Lenguerrand, Elsa Marques, Sian Noble, Mark Pyke, Catherine Sackley, Gina Sands, Adrian Sayers, Victoria Wells and Vikki Wylde Improving patients' experience and outcome of total joint replacement: the RESTORE programme ISSN 2050-4330 (Online) This journal is a member of and subscribes to the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (www.publicationethics.org/).Editorial contact: nihredit@southampton.ac.ukThe full PGfAR archive is freely available to view online at www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/pgfar. Print-on-demand copies can be purchased from the report pages of the NIHR Journals Library website: www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk Criteria for inclusion in the Programme Grants for Applied Research journalReports are published in Programme Grants for Applied Research (PGfAR) if (1) they have resulted from work for the PGfAR programme, and (2) they are of a sufficiently high scientific quality as assessed by the reviewers and editors. Programme Grants for Applied Research programmeThe Programme Grants for Applied Research (PGfAR) programme, part of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), was set up in 2006 to produce independent research findings that will have practical application for the benefit of patients and the NHS in the relatively near future. The Programme is managed by the NIHR Central Commissioning Facility (CCF) with strategic input from the Programme Director.The programme is a national response mode funding scheme that aims to provide evidence to improve health outcomes in England through promotion of health, prevention of ill health, and optimal disease management (including safety and quality), with particular emphasis on conditions causing significant disease burden.For more information about the PGfAR programme please visit the website: http://www.nihr.ac.uk/funding/programme-grants-forapplied-research.htm This reportThe research reported in this issue of the journal was funded by PGfAR as project number RP-PG-0407-10070. The contractual start date was in December 2008. The final report began editorial review in September 2014 and was accepted for publication in August 2015. As the funder, the PGfAR programme agreed the research questions and study designs in advance with the investigators. The authors have been wholly responsible for all data collection, analysis and interpretation, and for writing up their work. The PGfAR editors and production house have tried to ensure the accurac...

Objective:To evaluate the feasibility of conducting a randomized controlled trial comparing group-based outpatient physiotherapy with usual care in patients following total knee replacement.Design:A feasibility study for a randomized controlled trial.Setting:One secondary-care hospital orthopaedic centre, Bristol, UK.Participants:A total of 46 participants undergoing primary total knee replacement.Interventions:The intervention group were offered six group-based exercise sessions after surgery. The usual care group received standard postoperative care. Participants were not blinded to group allocation.Outcome measures:Feasibility was assessed by recruitment, reasons for non-participation, attendance, and completion rates of study questionnaires that included the Lower Extremity Functional Scale and Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score.Results:Recruitment rate was 37%. Five patients withdrew or were no longer eligible to participate. Intervention attendance was high (73%) and 84% of group participants reported they were ‘very satisfied’ with the exercises. Return of study questionnaires at six months was lower in the usual care (75%) than in the intervention group (100%). Mean (standard deviation) Lower Extremity Functional Scale scores at six months were 45.0 (20.8) in the usual care and 57.8 (15.2) in the intervention groups.Conclusion:Recruitment and retention of participants in this feasibility study was good. Group-based physiotherapy was acceptable to participants. Questionnaire return rates were lower in the usual care group, but might be enhanced by telephone follow-up. The Lower Extremity Functional Scale had high responsiveness and completion rates. Using this outcome measure, 256 participants would be required in a full-scale randomized controlled trial.

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Objective. To evaluate the long-term clinical effectiveness of a novel group-based outpatient physical therapy (PT) following total knee replacement (TKR).Methods. In this 2-center, unblinded, superiority, randomized controlled trial, 180 patients on a waiting list for primary TKR due to osteoarthritis were randomized to a 6 session group-based outpatient PT intervention and usual care (n = 89) or usual care alone (n = 91). The primary outcome was patient-reported functional ability measured by the Lower Extremity Functional Scale at 12 months postoperative. Secondary outcomes included knee symptoms, depression, anxiety, and satisfaction. Questionnaires were completed preoperatively and at 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively.Results. The mean difference in function between groups was 4.47 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.20, 8.75; P = 0.04) at 12 months postoperative, favoring the intervention. The mean difference in function between groups decreased over time, from 8.1 points at 3 months (95% CI 3.8, 12.4; P < 0.001) to 5.4 (95% CI 1.1, 9.8; P = 0.015) at 6 months postoperative. There were no clinically relevant differences in any secondary outcomes between groups, although patients in the intervention group were more likely to be satisfied with their PT. No serious adverse events related to the intervention were reported.Conclusion. Supplementing usual care with this group-based outpatient PT intervention led to improvements in function at 12 months after TKR, although the magnitude of the difference was below the minimum clinically important difference of 9 points. However, patient satisfaction was higher in the intervention group, and there was some evidence of clinically relevant improvements in function at 3 months.

Prospective comparative study, Level II.

Kneeling is an important function of the knee joint required for many daily activities. Bearing type is thought to influence functional outcome following UKA and TKA. Self-reported kneeling ability was recorded in 471 UKA and 206 TKA patients with fixed or mobile bearing implants. Kneeling ability was recorded from the Oxford Knee Score question 7. The self-reported ability to kneel was similar in patients with fixed and mobile bearing UKA implants following surgery. In TKA, greater proportions of patients were able to kneel in the fixed compared to the mobile bearing groups up to two years after surgery indicating that self-reported kneeling ability is enhanced in fixed compared to mobile bearing TKA.