Authors (including presenting author) :
Lam KY (1)(3), Cheung TKR (1), Tsang HC (1), To YL (1), Mok CYJ (2), Ong TYM (3), Yung SHP (3)
Affiliation :
(1) Physiotherapy Department, North District Hospital
(2) Department of Orthopaedics & Traumatology, North District Hospital
(3) Department of Orthopaedics & Traumatology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Introduction :
Our team prospectively evaluated the additional effects of whole body vibration therapy(WBVT) in the prehabilitation of total knee replacement (TKR).
Objectives :
To investigate the perioperative effects of WBVT on the strength and thickness of quadriceps muscle, functional mobility and patient-reported outcome measures along the TKR journey.
Methodology :
This randomized controlled trial recruited 36 participants aged 60-85 years between
November 1, 2023 and May 31, 2024. Participants were allocated to the control group (n=18) with exercise and the intervention group (n=18) with exercise + WBVT.
Both groups completed 12 exercise sessions. The intervention group also received 10 minutes of WBVT in each session. Outcome measures included isometric quadriceps strength, ultrasound-measured quadriceps thickness, timed up and go test and the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) subscales of Pain, Symptoms and Quality of Life. Assessments were performed at 3 time points: baseline, pre-operative and post-operative 4th week.
Result & Outcome :
A two-way repeated-measures ANOVA was performed. There were significant group
x time interactions found. The intervention group demonstrated consistently better results over the study period including the isometric quadriceps strength (F2,68 = 6.306, p=.003), ultrasound-measured quadriceps thickness (F2,68 = 7.250, p =.001), timed up and go test (F2,68 = 2.312, p =.033), KOOS-Symptoms (F2,68 = 7.644, p = .001) and KOOS-Quality of Life (F2,68 = 5.333, p =.007). However, the intervention group had shown no superiority in the relief of knee pain as there was only a significant time effect found in the KOOS-Pain (F2,68 = 20.924, p <.001).
It can be concluded that WBVT can expedite the prehabilitation of TKR by improving the performance of quadriceps muscle, functional mobility, patient-reported knee symptoms and quality of life. This supported the addition of WBVT into the prehabilitation of TKR in order to facilitate post-operative physical recovery.
