Impact of Prehabilitation in Total Knee Arthroplasty: Outcomes and Healthcare Service Utilization

Recovery post Total Knee Replacement Surgery ((TKA) has been a subject of interest. In a study of 379 patients who had hip or knee replacement surgery, it was reported that at 6 months post-surgery patients with better baseline function had superior functional ability and less pain than patients with lower function at baseline. Another study of 276 patients undergoing TKA reported that pre-operative joint function was a predictor of joint function and overall function at 6 months post-surgery. These findings suggest that prehabilitation to increase functional ability prior to TKA may have a positive effect in recovering post-surgery. In a randomized control trial of patients receiving TKA, the group receiving an Exercise Program (prehabilitation) made significant improvements in performance from baseline to before surgery, and at 1 and 3 months post surgery. For the group that did not receive the Exercise Program pre-surgery, significant improvement did not occur until 3 months post surgery. The overall objective of the proposed single-blinded randomized controlled trial is to demonstrate that a well designed prehabilitation program for patients receiving TKA surgery will significantly improve outcomes related to pain and function and may reduce utilization of health care services post surgery.

In this randomized control trial we hypothesize that the group of participants who receive a prehabilitation Exercise Program will recover quicker than patients who do not receive the Exercise Program based on several measures of performance including pain, quadriceps strength, range of motion and quality of life.