Evaluation of Improvement in Quality of Life and Physical Activity After Total Knee Arthroplasty in Greek Elderly Women

Abstract

Background:The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes in quality of life of patients after total knee arthroplasty and to assess the changes in physical activity by using a self-reported questionnaire and by counting the number of steps 3-6 months after post-operatively.Methods:Included were fifty two elderly women (age 72.6±65.9 years, mean±SD) with knee osteoarthritis undergoing primary knee arthroplasty. Health-related quality of life, physical activity, pain and function and the number of steps were assessed before, 3 and 6 months post-operatively. We used the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form (SF-36), the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) and the pedometer SW200 Digiwalker of Yamax.Results:Patients showed a significant improvement (p< 0.01, η2 =0.22) in health–related quality of life, particularly in physical function, (p<0 .001) body pain (p< 0.001) and vitality scale (p< 0.001) of SF-36 at 3 and 6 months after the procedure. Physical activity (PASE score) increased at 3 and 6 months after arthroplasty (p< 0.001, η2 =0.74), and the number of steps increased 6 months after, compared to the assessment that took place 3 months after operation (p< 0.001).Conclusions:Our results suggest that total knee arthroplasty leads to a gradual improvement in quality of life of elderly patients over the first 6 post-operative months.

Impact of a tailored activity counselling intervention during inpatient rehabilitation after knee and hip arthroplasty – an explorative RCT

“…The decline in PA in contrast to an increase in clinical outcome and well-being from presurgery status to 1 to 3 months after rehabilitation, followed by a further increase in PA, clinical outcome and well-being from 3 to 6 months after rehabilitation has been observed in previous studies [8, 13]. However, in our study the baseline PA values do not represent presurgery status.…”

“…However, the population investigated by Tsonga et al included several patients with contralateral pain and/or treatments, a higher BMI and less well-being 6 months after treatment, as demonstrated by an overall SF-36 score of 62.4 ± 2.7, a PCS of 56.7 ± 2.9 and a MCS of 68.1 ± 15.3 [8]. Knee and hip patients, investigated by Harding et al, showed statistically and clinically significant improvements in the Oxford Score and well-being 6 months postoperatively compared to the baseline values before surgery.…”

“…The health risks for OA patients regarding reduced physical activity (PA), (such as a higher prevalence of type II diabetes), as well as the positive aspects of being physically active, (such as less prevalence of metabolic syndrome), were recently summarized in a vivid review by Paxton and colleagues [7]. However, several studies have demonstrated that PA after knee or hip arthroplasty is low, and that, although clinical outcomes and physical functioning appears to be good, patients do not meet current activity guidelines [8–11]. While a wide range in the amount of PA after knee and hip arthroplasty has been reported in previous research in Germany, in each study PA among patients was observed to be less compared to that of healthy peers [12–14].…”

Quality of Life in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis: A Commentary on Nonsurgical and Surgical Treatments

“…Desmeules et al [14] reported mean Physical Component Summary (PCS) and Mental Component Summary (MCS) scores from the SF-36 of 28 and 43, respectively, in 197 patients waiting for total knee arthroplasty (TKA); both of these values are well below the 25 th percentile compared to age- and gender-matched normative values [15]. Other studies have reported similarly low HRQoL in patients waiting for TKA [11, 16]. Notably, within a group of patients waiting for TKA who already report very low HRQoL, nearly 3 in 4 reported continued worsening in HRQoL during the mean 10-month waiting period before surgery [17].…”

Clinical outcome and physical activity measured with StepWatch 3™ Activity Monitor after minimally invasive total hip arthroplasty

“…Although we could not found any differences in GCs/per day independence of age, patients in the other studies were about 10 years older in average [19, 20]. From the literature, we know that steps per day decrease with increasing age and physical activity decreases with age [12, 21].…”