Abstract
Objective
Total Hip Arthroplasty (THA) and Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) bring relief of pain and functional disability to patients with end stage osteoarthritis, however the literature on their impact on patients’ level of physical activity (PA) is scarce.
Methods
Cross-sectional study, performed in 2012, in 515 patients who underwent THA/TKA surgery in 2010–2011 and a random sample of persons aged >40 years from the Dutch general population participating in a national survey in the same period. PA in minutes per week (min/week) and adherence to the Dutch recommendation for health enhancing PA was measured by means of the Short QUestionnaire to ASsess Health enhancing PA (SQUASH) Additional assessments included socio-demographic characteristics, the presence of comorbidities, BMI and Short Form-12. Multivariable linear (total min/week) and logistic regression analyses (meeting PA recommendation), adjusting for confounders, were performed for THA and TKA separately.
Results
258 THA patients (64% female, mean age 70.0 (SD9.2)), 221 TKA patients (67% female, mean age 70.2 (SD8.9)) and 4373 persons from the general population sample (52% female, age 59.0 (SD12.0)) were included. In both regression analyses, the presence of joint arthroplasty was statistically significantly associated with more total min/week spent on PA (THA 7.0% increase, 95%-CI (2.0%–12.6%); TKA 7.4% increase, 95%-CI (1.6%–13.4%)) and a higher chance of adherence with PA recommendations (THA OR 1.90, 95%-CI (1.12–3.03); TKA OR 1.94, 95%-CI (1.19–3.15)).
Conclusion
6-18 months after surgery, THA/TKA patients were more physically active than a random sample of persons >40 years from the Dutch general population.
