Who Benefits More From Total Knee Replacement Surgery?

A study was published on August 6, 2012 in the journal ”Osteoarthritis and Cartilage”. One of the conclusions drawn from the study was that if someone  has knee osteoarthritis, steps can be taken to prevent permanent damage. For those with the damage done, it will be necessary to undergojoint replacement surgery to relieve pain and boost knee function.

Furthermore the study showed that osteoarthritis patients that had the most joint damage before surgery would be the most likely to benefit fromtotal knee replacement and were least likely to have major pain one year after the surgery.

Michelle Dowsey, PhD, of the University of Melbourne, and her colleagues wanted to know how patients with different levels of  damage responded to total knee replacement surgery. (478 osteoarthritis patients were used in the study).

It was found that  about 30 percent of patients did not get sufficient pain relief and about 50 percent of patients did not regain enough function.

The researchers placed patients  in groups according to their level of damage.

Patients with the least  damage were over five times more likely than those with the most damage to continue feeling moderate or severe pain one year after surgery.

Compared to patients that had the most damage, those with less damage were almost three times more likely to have poor function one year after their surgery.

For the most part, higher levels of damage before surgery were associated with greater pain relief and improved function.

The study was graded according to the Kellgren-Lawrence Grading Scale – which is used for rating joint damage in osteoarthritis.  Grade 1 marks the least damage and Grade 4 marks the most.

Following knee replacement surgery, improvement is accomplished with the  proper physical therapy solutions. One of the most effective products now available for this condition is the LEGTUTOR.

 The LEGTUTOR is an ergonomic wearable leg brace with dedicated rehabilitation software.  The LEGTUTOR  concept is based on performing controlled exercise rehabilitation practice at a patient customized level with real time accurate feedback on the patient’s performance. This means that the LEGTUTOR system allows the physical therapist to prescribe a leg rehabilitation program customized to the patient’s knee and hip movement ability at their personal stage  of rehabilitation. The LEGTUTOR uses biofeedback to keep the patient motivated to do the exercise practice with what was designed for them in the form of challenging games. The LEGTUTOR and its sister devices (HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR and 3DTUTOR) are suitable for a wide variety of other neurological and orthopedic injuries and diseases as well as post trauma and orthopedic surgery.

 The LEGTUTOR is also used by physical and occupational therapists  for upper and lower extremity rehabilitation. The TUTOR system is used by many leading rehabilitation centers worldwide and has full FDA and CE certification. It is designed for children and adults and can be used at home supported by telerehabilitation. See WWW.MEDITOUCH.CO.IL for more information.