Physical Impairments and Functional Limitations: A Comparison of Individuals 1 Year After Total Knee Arthroplasty With Control Subjects

Abstract

One year after TKA, marked physical impairments and functional limitations persisted. [Walsh M, Woodhouse LJ, Thomas SG, Finch E. Physical impairments and functional limitations: a comparison of individuals 1 year after total knee arthroplasty with control subjects.

The Chitranjan Ranawat Award: The Nonoperated Knee Predicts Function 3 Years after Unilateral Total Knee Arthroplasty

“…Strength affects function [20]; reduced physical capacity may be both a cause and a consequence of physical impairment and functional limitations [32]. Patients with TKA were stable on tests of functional performance and self-report outcome measures during this investigation; however, lower scores on functional tests compared to controls indicate their level of function was not as good as individuals without osteoarthrosis.…”

“…Lower scores on tests of physical function persist at least 1 year after surgery [19,21,32] with greater dysfunction during greater strength-demanding activities such as stair climbing [4,6,12,18,32] and sit-to-stand transfers [18,31]. Tests that measure functional performance have a low correlation with perceived function when self-reported on outcome questionnaires [23].…”

“…Knee extensor weakness persists after TKA [1,2,6,15,32], with deficits up to 30% to 40% compared with age-matched control subjects [1]. Conversely, strength of the operated quadriceps before surgery was a major predictor of performance [16]; stronger quadriceps before surgery resulted in better scores on the timed up and go and stair climbing tests after surgery.…”

Unipedal Balance Is Affected by Lower Extremity Joint Arthroplasty Procedure 1 Year Following Surgery

“…Common complications reported after total hip arthroplasty (THA) include dislocation, abductor weakness, decreased range of motion, and a limp [15][16][17][18][19]. Similarly, common limitations reported after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) include diminished walking speed, difficulty ascending and descending stairs, and inability to return to sports played prior to surgery with up to 37% of patients reporting limited function post-operatively [20][21][22][23]9]. Common problems reported after total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) include residual pain, superficial wound complications, and deep infections as well as limitations in walking speed and gait mechanics [24,25].…”

Measuring functional abilities of patients with knee problems: rationale and construction of the DynaPort knee test

“…Because of pain reduction self-reported quality of life may increase more quickly after TKR than the knee score. On the other hand, it is known from the literature that even 1 year after surgery TKR patients still have problems with everyday movements [7,22,33]. To monitor such problems the knee test may become the instrument of choice for movement-oriented health professionals dealing with TKR patients.…”