IMPACT OF PREOPERATIVE REHABILITATION ON FUNCTIONAL OUTCOMES FOLLOWING TOTAL KNEE ARTHROPLASTY; A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

Background: A popular surgical procedure for end-stage osteoarthritis is total knee arthroplasty (TKA), which often requires a lengthy recovery time. This research assesses how preoperative rehabilitation affects post-TKA functional results. Objective: to evaluate the impact on functional mobility, pain thresholds, quality of life, and duration of hospital stay in patients undergoing total knee arthroscopy (TKI). Methods: This randomized controlled trial included 88 Bahawal Victoria Hospital, Bahawalpur, patients having major TKA visits. Participants were randomly assigned to control or preoperative rehabilitation groups (n = 44). Rehabilitation participants exercised for four weeks before surgery, while the control group received standard care. Functional mobility, discomfort, and quality of life were assessed at six weeks and three months after surgery using the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS). Noted was hospital stay length. Results: Comparing the rehabilitation group to the control group, there were significant improvements in TUG test timings (14.2 ± 2.3 vs. 16.5 ± 2.8 seconds, p < 0.001) and pain levels (VAS score of 3.8 ± 1.2 vs. 4.6 ± 1.5, p = 0.01). Additionally, the rehabilitation group's KOOS quality of life score was considerably higher (59.9 ± 6.9 vs. 54.2 ± 7.2, p = 0.005). Furthermore, the rehabilitation group was admitted to the hospital for 3.8 ± 0.9 days as opposed to 4.4 ± 1.1 days (p = 0.02). Conclusion: With the extra advantage of shorter hospital stays, preoperative rehabilitation dramatically improves functional results, lowers pain, and improves quality of life after total knee arthroplasty (TKI).