Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To (1) classify patients who are recovering from total knee arthroplasty (TKA) based on walking speed during an early physical therapy program, and (2) assess whether walking-speed trajectory predicts performance on the timed up-and-go (TUG) test. DESIGN: Cohort study. METHODS: We included 218 patients from a 10- day physical therapy program after TKA. A latent class mixed model was used to classify patients according to their walking-speed trajectory during the program. We assessed the change in TUG test score from pre-TKA to 6 weeks and 1 year after TKA. The association between change in TUG test score and walking-speed trajectory was assessed using multivariable regression. RESULTS: There were 2 groups with distinct walking-speed trajectories: A high-gain group (46%) and a low-gain group (54%). There was no significant association between change in TUG test score and walking-speed trajectory after TKA and physical therapy. Function (based on TUG test performance) improved for all patients 1 year after TKA, irrespective of walking-speed trajectory (ie, high or low gain) early in postoperative physical therapy. CONCLUSION: Although we distinguished different groups based on functional outcomes during physical therapy, the clinical relevance of classifying patients based on walking speed remains unclear, as it did not predict short- and long-term functional outcomes.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 362-371 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy |
Volume | 51 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jul 2021 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Joint replacement
- Latent class mixed models
- Physical therapy
- Prediction
- Surgery outcome
- Total knee arthroplasty