How Physiotherapists Treat Knee Replacement


by Jonathan Blood Smyth - Date: 2008-11-26 - Word Count: 689 Share This!

Osteoarthritis is a time related joint degenerative condition, the incidence rising rapidly with age, making it the commonest arthritic condition in the world. It develops in various joints in the human body and in some people it particularly affects the large weight-bearing joints of the hip and the knee. As the joint surfaces deteriorate the joint becomes painful, crunches, loses range of motion and becomes difficult to walk on. When conservative measures are not helpful, such as physiotherapy, analgesics, walking aids and weight loss, then knee replacement is considered.
Medical technology developed in the late twentieth century to the stage that joint replacement has become a common and predictable treatment for severely arthritic joints, proving to give the highest quality of life of all medical interventions. Total knee replacement is now a predictable and very successful intervention with good ten year results and beyond. Knee replacement is becoming a more popular operation than hip replacement and as western populations get older the demand will increase.
The osteoarthritic joint surfaces are precisely cut away in knee replacement and metal and plastic surfaces are substituted. These are:
The femoral component, made of metal, which replaces the knuckle-shaped end of the thigh bone.
The tibial component, again of metal, replaces the flat top of the shin bone.
The plastic insert, made of ultra high density polyethylene, is placed between the femoral and tibial inserts.
Patellar button. This is also plastic and replaces the back surfaces of the kneecap. If this is not replaced then persistent anterior knee pain can be a problem.
These components are placed in position using cement which acts more like a grout than an adhesive.
Once the operation has been completed the physiotherapist must treat the consequences of the operation to ensure a successful outcome for the patient. Surgery causes pain, swelling, inflammation and muscle weakness and much of the early physiotherapy is targeted towards this. Initially the physio can use a Cryocuff, a refillable pressure cuff fitted closely to the knee, to reduce the swelling and to provide cold therapy over an extended period, reducing the pain and facilitating muscle action. Taking the painkillers regularly and static quadriceps exercises are encouraged hourly to re-establish muscular knee control and gentle knee flexion exercises to get the knee range of movement going.
Next the physiotherapist assesses the patient for suitability for their first mobilisation, checking the operation note, the patient's medical observations and the condition of the legs themselves. The operated knee has to have enough stability to safely weight bear, as an epidural can cause profound loss of muscle power and prevent safe mobilisation until the drugs wear off. The patient is mobilised into standing by the physio with an assistant and encouraged to walk a small distance with elbow crutches or a Zimmer frame for more elderly persons. Operative protocol usually encourages normal weight bearing through the new knee as this helps restore normal patterns of muscular activity and improves circulation.
Outpatient physiotherapy aims to restore normal muscle power and function, joint range of motion and regain functional abilities. Initial exercises include knee hangs for full passive extension (very important for normal knee function), inner range quadriceps to restore active extension to full range and knee flexion to increase range. Resisted flexion over the edge of a bed helps the quadriceps relax by reciprocal inhibition and allows increases in flexion range. This can be manually resisted by a physio or performed against a spring or Theraband. Massage to the scar area is also useful to mobilise the scar and free up the tissues.
Further rehabilitation is more likely to take place in the gym, concentrating on functional activities such as moving from sitting to standing and step ups and strengthening work with Theraband and the gymnastic ball. Work on range of motion will continue using resisted exercises and static bicycling and patients can usefully work on proprioception using the wobble board and other balance related activities. Proprioception is the normal ability of a joint to sense its position in space and this is very important for normal activity and safe walking. Normal gait patterns are encouraged and abnormal patterns corrected.

Related Tags: health, physical fitness, back pain, pain management, sciatica, back pain relief, back injury, physiotherapy, frozen shoulder, physiotherapist, piriformis syndrome, injury management, physiotherapists

Jonathan Blood Smyth is Superintendent of a large team ofPhysiotherapists at an NHS hospital in Devon. He specialises in orthopaedic conditions and looking after joint replacements as well as managing chronic pain. Visit the website he edits if you are looking for physiothrapists in Richmond or elsewhere in the UK.

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