PHILADELPHIA – Preoperative neuromuscular exercise does not significantly improve function or pain 3 months after total hip or knee replacement, according to a randomized, controlled trial in 165 patients.

The study’s primary endpoint of self-reported activities of daily living (ADLs) at 3 months was similar in patients who exercised prior to surgery and those who did not (mean between-group difference 4.4 points; P = .096). The change from baseline in the group who exercised prior to surgery was 29 points vs. 25 points in the surgery-only group, on a 100-point, worst-to-best scale.

Joint-related quality of life (mean 4.5 points; P = .22) and pain (mean 3.6 points; P = .09) were also not significantly different between the two groups, Dr. Allan Villadsen said at the World Congress on Osteoarthritis Research Society.

The 8 weeks of twice-weekly exercise, however, was not for naught.

Patients improved immediately following exercise and this improvement carried over to 6 weeks after surgery, "indicating an earlier onset of recovery," he said. "Therefore, we believe exercise constitutes a viable treatment option for the individual patient who’s willing to engage in exercise prior to total hip or knee replacement and possibly obtain an earlier onset of recovery."

While preoperative exercise has been shown to improve function in other settings, little is known about its role in knee- and hip-replacement surgery for patients with severe osteoarthritis (OA). A meta-analysis of 23 randomized controlled trials involving 1,461 patients reported a small improvement in physical function and pain 3 weeks after total hip arthroscopy, but no effects in total knee replacement 3 months after surgery (Osteoarthritis Cartilage 2011;19:1381-95).A subsequent systematic review and meta-analysis, however, suggests that the therapeutic validity of the exercise programs used in the studies may have hampered the beneficial effects (PLos One 2012;7:e38031). In addition, the sample sizes were small, and the calculated effect sizes for pain and physical function were based on only two to four studies, observed Dr. Villadsen of the Institute of Sport Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense.

The current trial randomly assigned 165 patients with severe symptomatic hip or knee OA scheduled for unilateral primary total joint replacement to receive a brochure recommending exercise prior to surgery and a 3-hour information session with health professionals or the same intervention plus individualized group-based neuromuscular exercise guided by a physiotherapist. The sessions were designed to improve sensorimotor control and range of motion, and included warm up on a stationary bike, a circuit program, and a walking cool-down period, Dr. Villadsen said at the meeting, sponsored by Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI).

Hip OA was present in 43 of the 84 patients in the exercise arm and 41 of the 81 controls. Their mean age was 67 years and mean ADL score on the 100-point Hip Disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (HOOS) or Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) questionnaires was 50.6 and 45.6, respectively.

At 6 weeks, the between-group difference in activities of daily living on both the HOOS and KOOS questionnaires was 5.2, favoring the exercise group (P = .05), Dr. Villadsen said.

During a discussion of the results, an audience member asked whether the patients had tried exercise prior to joint replacement, which is the current recommendation. Dr. Villadsen said they did not track this, but that anecdotally, "Many of these patients are not offered what is recommended in the international guidelines, which is very disturbing ... if you asked them, many of them never even exercised before."

Session moderator and orthopedic surgeon Dr. Victor Goldberg, with Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland said it’s difficult to tease out the effects of surgery in analyses like these, but agreed that many patients are being sent to surgery without having been counseled to exercise. Part of the problem is that patients with mild to moderate OA are typically cared for by primary care physicians, who aren’t as well versed as rheumatologists and orthopedic surgeons are on the impairment, he said in an interview.

"That’s one of the charges of OARSI and our guidelines, is to really put it out in the community," he added.

"These kinds of studies, which point to the need for intervention in arthroplasty, particularly with well-done neuromuscular exercise programs, are very important to the overall management of these patients," Dr. Goldberg said. It’s needed because 15%-23% of patients after surgery say " ‘I’m not much better; I still hurt.’ "

Self-reported data at 1 year are currently being processed and will be included in a manuscript on the cost-effectiveness of the intervention, Dr. Villadsen said in an interview.

Dr. Villadsen reported having no financial disclosures.

pwendling@frontlinemedcom.com

Prearthroplasty exercise benefits short lived