POS1482-HPR COMPARISON OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TELEREHABILITATION IN INDIVIDUALS WITH OSTEOARTHRITIS FOLLOWING TOTAL KNEE ARTHROPLASTY: RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

Background:

Arthroplasty currently is considered the international gold standard of treatment the knee joint osteoarthritis. Currently, little information describing the wide effect of telerehabilitation in individuals with total knee arthroplasty exists [1]. Also there is a lack of sufficient evidence investigating the effectiveness of telerehabilitation in the Turkish population.

Objectives:

This study aims to compare the effects of telerehabilitation versus using standard home exercise papers after knee arthroplasty.

Methods:

Twenty four patients(3 male(12,5%), 21 female(87,5%)) undergoing total knee arthroplasty surgery(13 right (54.167%) and 11 left side(45.833%),with thirteen in Telerehabilitation Group and eleven in Standard Home Exercise Paper Group, were included and randomized. Both groups were provided with an 8-week standard home exercise program, while the Telerehabilitation Group received an additional assignment which included digitally delivered visual exercise content with linked videos sent electronically and weekly video calls. All patients were assessed postoperatively first day, 4-week and 8-week after the surgery. Sociodemographic data were obtained from all participants. Range of motion was assessed by using digital goniometer; Artificial joint awareness was assessed with Forgotten Joint Score(FJS); Function was assessed by 5 Repetition Sit to Stand Test and Knee Osteoarthritis Outcome Score-Physical Function (KOOS-PS); Satisfaction of Telerehabilitation was assessed by Telemedicine Satisfaction and Usefulness Questionnaire(TSUQ), patient adherence to exercise was assessed by Exercise Adherence Rating Scale(EARS) and Quadriceps isometric muscle strength was assessed with Lafayette Manual Muscle Tester. SPSS 23.0 was used for statistical analysis. p<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results:

There was no statistically significant difference between groups in terms of age, weight, BMI, operated knee and gender. Active knee flexion and passive knee flexion on the operated side significantly increased in the telerehabilitation group (p=0.026, p=0.020). Active knee extension on the operated side increased in both the telerehabilitation and standard home program groups (p=0.000), with no significant difference between the two groups (p=0.526). There was no statistically significant increase observed in passive knee extension on the operated side (p=0.294) in both groups. 5-repetition sit-to-stand test showed significant improvement in both groups (p=0,000), with no significant difference between the two groups(p=0.714). Telerehabilitation group demonstrated statistically significant difference in KOOS-PS (p=0.021) score. The isometric quadriceps muscle strength showed significant improvement in both the operative side (p=0.002) and the non-operative side (p=0.004) in the telerehabilitation group.The BFoM showed significant improvement in the telerehabilitation group (p=0.001). No improvement was observed in FJS (p=0.291) and EARS total scores (p=0.878) in both groups. All individuals in the telerehabilitation group were satisfied with the telerehabilitation, and no difference was found between the assessments according to TSUQ (p=0.171).

Conclusion:

In conclusion of this study, telerehabilitation applied after total knee arthroplasty had a corrective effect on operative knee active and passive flexion, physical function according to KOOS-PS and artificial joint awareness according to BFoM. Additionally, our study revealed that isometric Quadriceps muscle strength showed significant improvement in telerehabilitation group. The results of our study showed that telerehabilitation has superior aspects in many parameters which are important for recovery and treatment program. We believe that telerehabilitation is important form of treatment after total knee arthroplasty, as it improves these parameters.

REFERENCES:

[1] Abdelaal, M. S., Restrepo, C., & Sharkey, P. F. (2020). Global Perspectives on Arthroplasty of Hip and Knee Joints. The Orthopedic Clinics of North America, 51(2), 169–176.

Acknowledgements:

NIL.

Disclosure of Interests:

None declared.