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Preoperative Exercise Participation Reflects Patient Engagement and Predicts Earlier Patient Discharge and Less Gait Aid Dependence After Total Joint Arthroplasty ORTHOPEDICS Denduluri, S. K., Huddleston, J. I., Amanatullah, D. F. 2020; 43 (5): E364–E368

Abstract

Whether preoperative physical therapy actually leads to improved clinical outcomes after total joint arthroplasty (TJA) remains unclear. The authors sought to use participation in a preoperative online exercise and education program as a marker for patient engagement. They hypothesized that increased preoperative participation with the program would predict shorter length of stay (LOS) and gait independence. Forty consecutive patients undergoing primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA) by a single surgeon were given access to the PrimePrehab Prehabilitation Exercise Program (NextPT, Boulder, Colorado). Patients were guided through questionnaires, and the program generated educational readings and exercise modules directed toward initial ability. Preoperative completion of readings, completion of exercise modules, and improvement in exercise difficulty were tracked. Patients received a standardized postoperative protocol, including physical therapy on the day of surgery and subsequent hospital days. Length of stay and gait aid use at 90 days postoperatively were recorded. Analyses were simple or multiple regression with a significance of P=.05. Patients completed a mean of 7 exercise modules with 30% improvement in difficulty. Controlling for demographic variables, the frequency of program completion correlated with shorter LOS (P=.037). This finding was not different between THA and TKA (P=.387). No association was found between the frequency of program completion and gait aid use at 90 days (P=.213), although there was a decrease in gait aid use at 90 days with improvement in exercise difficulty (P=.034). A preoperative education and exercise program can predict patient engagement, which correlates with a shorter LOS and suggests that increasing exercise difficulty is associated with gait independence after TJA. [Orthopedics. 2020;43(5):e364-e368.].

View details for DOI 10.3928/01477447-20200619-04

View details for Web of Science ID 000608158400004

View details for PubMedID 32602926