Impact of Hospital Rehabilitation on Functional Outcomes and Quality of Life after Total Knee Arthroplasty

Objective: The objective of the study was to investigate the impact of rehabilitation program performed in hospital on functional outcomes and quality of life after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Material and Methods: The trial included 374 patients (307 female and 67 male; age range 47-85 years) who had undergone TKA. The patients in group I (n=123) were included in an inpatient rehabilitation program at a physical medicine and rehabilitation hospital, whereas the patients in group II (n=251) were provided a home exercise program. Knee pain at rest using the visual analog scale, functional and knee scores of the Knee Society Clinical Rating System, and Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire were used as outcome measures. Results: The percentage change in the physical component score of the SF-36 was significantly higher in the patients of the hospital-based program than in those of the home-based program, whereas the mental component score revealed no difference between the groups (p=0.001 and p>0.05, respectively). The percentage of improvement was not different between groups in terms of knee pain and knee score of the Knee Society (p>0.05). Conclusion: The results demonstrated that the rehabilitation program performed in the hospital was more effective with respect to the functional status than the home exercise program after TKA. Keywords: Total knee arthroplasty, home-based rehabilitation, inpatient rehabilitation