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Abnormal movement patterns after TKA may lead to future surgery
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Patients with abnormal movement patterns on the operated and non-operated limbs after total knee arthroplasty may undergo a future contralateral TKA, according to results published in The Journal of Orthopaedic Research.
Reduced sagittal plane knee excursions may play a role in the progression of contralateral knee osteoarthritis, researchers noted.
Joseph A. Zeni Jr. PT, PhD, and colleagues identified 158 patients who completed 3-dimensional motion analysis 6 months to 24 months after unilateral TKA for end-stage OA. At a mean 5.89 years after baseline testing, researchers re-contacted patients to determine if they had undergone a contralateral TKA. Researchers compared biomechanical variables from gait at baseline between patients who did and did not undergo contralateral TKA.
Results showed less knee flexion excursion and less knee extension excursion at baseline on the operated side during walking among individuals who underwent contralateral TKA. Researchers also noted less knee flexion excursion on the contralateral limb of these patients at baseline. Researchers found a 9.1% reduction in the risk of future contralateral TKA for every additional degree of knee flexion excursion on the contralateral knee at baseline. Patients were more likely to undergo future contralateral TKA if they walked with stiffer gait patterns, according to researchers.
“A quarter of patients who have knee replacement on one knee may need their other knee replaced within several years, even if they did not have much pain in the opposite knee to start with,” Zeni told Healio.com/Orthopedics. “Physical therapists should work with patients to restore normal movement patterns after knee replacement to potentially reduce the risk of a secondary surgery.” – by Casey Tingle
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
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Zeni JA Jr. et al. J Orthop Res. 2018;doi:10.1002/jor.24175.
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