The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of a preoperative muscle training program on hip or knee TJA (Total Joint Arthroplasty). It aims to improve hospital discharge readiness and functional capacity in both the short and long-term. One of the key factors affecting recovery after TJA is how well the patient functions before their surgery. Thus, interventions addressing preoperative function are expected to be beneficial.
Although total hip or knee joint replacement is beneficial in treating severe hip or knee osteoarthritis, a significant number of patients take longer to recover in the hospital or have a non-optimal quality of life after the surgery. These patients often have difficulties in accomplishing basic essential everyday tasks such as walking and stair climbing, both shortly and long after surgery. It has been previously shown through research that difficulties to do basic tasks before surgery delays recovery and negatively affects long-term function. It has also been shown that these difficulties are associated with reduced strength in hip or knee muscles present before surgery, caused by lack of activity of patients. This study will determine if a hip or knee muscle strengthening exercise program accomplished before surgery can improve hospital recovery, capacity to accomplish basic activities, and quality of life two days, six weeks and six months after joint replacement surgery. If this exercise program is shown to be beneficial, it will be easily used by patients when waiting for their surgery.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
55
Patients randomized to the Experimental Group will undergo a 6 Week Exercise Program plus Standard of Care
Patients randomized to the Active Comparator Group will not undergo an exercise program, patients will receive the standard of care used at The Ottawa Hospital for hip and knee surgeries. Standard of care protocol will be explained by each individual surgeon.
The Ottawa Hospital
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
HOOS or KOOS Questionnaire to assess self-reported pain
The Hip Disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (HOOS) or Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS). A standardized set of questions to assess the function of the hip or knee (dependent on which surgery the patient is undergoing). The KOOS/HOOS are comprised of 6 sections: 1) Symptoms (3 items), 2) Stiffness (2 items), 3) Pain (10 items), 4) Function Daily Living (17 items), 5) Function/Sports and Recreation (4 items), 6) Quality of Life (4 items). A Likert scale is used and all items have five possible answer options scored from 0 (No Problems) to 4 (Extreme Problems) and each of the five scores is calculated as the sum of the items included. Scores are transformed to a 0-100 scale, with zero representing extreme knee problems and 100 representing no knee problems as is common in orthopaedic assessment scales and generic measures. Scores between 0 and 100 represent the percentage of total possible score achieved.
Time frame: 12 months
Timed-Up-and-Go (TUG)
Assesses the time that a patient takes to rise from a chair, walk three metres, turn around, walk back to the chair, and sit down. Time will be measured in seconds.
Time frame: 12 months
Timed Stair Test
Assesses the time that a patient takes to ascend and descend a flight of 10 stair, while holding on to the handrail. Time will be measured in seconds.
Time frame: 12 months
Length of hospital stay
Length of stay will be calculated from the date of surgery to discharge from an inpatient bed. Length of stay will be measured in days until hospital discharge.
Time frame: 1 month
Post-surgical Complications
Post-operative complications and adverse events will be collected using the Ottawa Hospital data warehouse coding data.
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Time frame: 30 days
Hip or Knee Muscle Strength
For patients undergoing hip surgery, hip abductor strength will be assessed with a hand held dynamometer with the patient in the side-lying position. For patients undergoing knee surgery, quadriceps strength will be measured with a hand held dynamometer with the patient in the supine position and the knee flexed at 60 degrees. A dynamometer is a small machine hand-held by the research assistant that you push on with your leg in order to measure the strength of your muscle (measured in kilograms). The average of three trials will be used. Absolute (affected side only) and relative (difference between non-affected and affected side) strength values will be calculated. Muscle strength will be assessed at baseline, two weeks before surgery, six months and one year after surgery.
Time frame: 12 months
Muscle Mass measured with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry
Body weight and height will be measured. A method called dual-energy x-ray (DXA) will also be used to measure bone density, percent fat and percent lean body mass. The patient will lie on an examination table, wearing a hospital gown, while a low-intensity x-ray will scan the entire body. The measurement takes approximately 20 minutes. The only risk is a minimal x-ray exposure of less than 0.003 mSv, which is less than the natural exposure to sunlight during the course of 1 day. Muscle mass will be assessed at baseline, two weeks before surgery, six months and one year after surgery.
Time frame: 12 months
Generic Health Status measured by the Questionnaire EQ-5D-5L
A standardized set of questions to assess generic health status. The EQ-5D-5L questionnaire consists of 2 pages: the EQ-5D descriptive system (5 items) and the EQ visual analogue scale (EQ VAS). The descriptive system comprises five dimensions: mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression. The patient is asked to tick the box that is most appropriate to their health within the 5 levels: no problems, slight problems, moderate problems, severe problems and extreme problems. This decision results in a 1-digit number that expresses the level selected for that dimension. The digits for the five dimensions can be combined into a 5-digit number that describes the patient's health state. The EQ VAS records the patient's self-rated health on a vertical visual analogue scale, where the endpoints are labelled as 100 ('The best health you can imagine) and 0 (The worst health you can imagine).
Time frame: 12 months