Measured ambulation and self-reported health status following total joint replacement for the osteoarthritic knee

Do Activity Levels Increase After Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty?

“…However, this only equated to an increase of 10 minutes of activity per day, which the authors considered to be clinically insignificant. Two of the previous studies, with a cohort of participants after TKA, measured locomotion or ambulation and reported significant increases at 6 months [9,44]. These different findings compared with our study may be explained by the measurement relating only to ambulation.…”

“…Hence, the physical activity guidelines provided a clinically relevant benchmark to measure physical activity against pre-and postoperatively. Four previous studies have measured physical activity using accelerometers before and at 6 months after arthroplasty [4,9,12,44]. One of these studies from The Netherlands [12] included a mixed cohort of people after either THA or TKA and in contrast to our study, a significant increase in physical activity at 6 months after THA and TKA was reported.…”

“…Although we performed a subgroup analysis of change in physical activity for THA and TKA participants separately, it is important to note the small samples in each group mean these analyses are underpowered and the findings should be considered hypothesis-generating rather than conclusive. The low percentage of people in this study meeting the physical activity guidelines pre-and [19,44]. A p value\0.05 was considered statistically significant; Method 1 = activity counts calculated using wear hours only on valid days; Method 2 = activity counts calculated inclusive of wear hours and nonwear hours on valid days; cpm = counts per minute.…”

“…The success of THA and TKA in relieving pain and improving function for patients with end-stage OA has been well established [14,24]. Another important goal of arthroplasty is to increase physical activity [6,7]; however, this goal is poorly understood and has received relatively little evaluation [4,9,12,44].…”

“…Contained within small activity monitors, they measure activity counts (summation of the frequency and intensity of vertical accelerations and decelerations measured during select time intervals), steps taken, and intensity of movement [2]. Recent studies exploring physical activity levels in the arthroplasty population using accelerometers [4,9,12,44] have reported conflicting findings regarding changes in physical activity after arthroplasty. Unfortunately, all but one of these studies measured physical activity over short durations of 24 to 48 hours [9,12,44], which is less than the recommended minimum of 3 to 5 days (including a weekend day) required to gain accurate measures of habitual physical activity [42].…”