Diverse rehabilitation measures applied for restorative treatment of total hip arthroplasty patients (own findings and literature review

Abstract

Introduction Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is one of the most successful orthopedic procedures performed today. Rates of THA have been steadily increasing over the past several decades with increasing number of patients who need proper effective rehabilitation therapy after orthopaedic surgery. Evaluation and introduction of new rehabilitation techniques is crucial for patients undergoing replacement of major joints. Objective Review the literature and our own findings with various rehabilitation programs used for THA patients to aid recovery following surgery at a short and long term. Material and methods The study included 57 THA patients referred to rehabilitation department of the Kurgan Ilizarov Center to help manage pain at different terms following surgery. The sample was divided into main (n = 29) and control (n = 28) groups. Post-isometric relaxation techniques were included in rehabilitation program of the main group. Clinical outcomes were evaluated with VAS, the Lequesne Index, McGill Pain Questionnaire, WOMAC, and Harris Hip Score. Results Outcome measures showed 1.5 times improvement in controls with high statistical significance (p > 0.01) and 3.3 times improvement in patients who received post-isometric relaxation therapy with greater significance level (p > 0.001). Conclusion The findings suggest that post-isometric relaxation techniques applied as a part of restorative treatment facilitate improved outcomes of rehabilitation. The optimal rehabilitation protocols have been shown to be largely unknown for THA patients.