Knee replacement surgery involves replacing a damaged, worn or diseased joint with an artificial joint. This is a routine operation for knee pain when the joint has been severely damaged, most commonly by arthritis.
More than 70.000 knee replacements were carried out in England and Wales during 2008 which is on the rise due to an increase in the elderly and overweight population.
The surgery is fairly complex, orthopedic surgeons must "get it right" first time or patients will need a revision. In Britain the rates for needing a revision is very low at just 1.4%. This result is much better than many other countries according to the president of the Royal College of Surgeons.
Exercise plays a large role in recovery from knee replacement. A recent study involving a progressive Quadriceps strengthening program (this is the front thigh muscle) after a replacement found that it enhanced clinical improvement almost to the level of healthy adults of the same age.
Often after surgery patients continue to have impaired Quadriceps strength and function for activities such as walking, climbing stairs and getting up from a chair.
The study showed that patients who did a strength training program had significant improvement in Quadriceps strength, functional performance and self reported function compared to the standard patient group who recieved standard exercises in hospital with no physiotherapy aftercare.
These data suggest that patients who do not undertake an intensive rehabilitation program following knee replacement surgery are clearly at a disadvantage