Rehabilitation after total joint replacement: a scoping study

AbstractPurpose: The evidence supporting rehabilitation after joint replacement, while vast, is of variable quality making it difficult for clinicians to apply the best evidence to their practice. We aimed to map key issues for rehabilitation following joint replacement, highlighting potential avenues for new research.Materials and methods: We conducted a scoping study including research published between January 2013 and December 2016, evaluating effectiveness of rehabilitation following hip and knee total joint replacement. We reviewed this work in the context of outcomes described from previously published research.Results: Thirty individual studies and seven systematic reviews were included, with most research examining the effectiveness of physiotherapy-based exercise rehabilitation after total knee replacement using randomized control trial methods. Rehabilitation after hip and knee replacement whether carried out at the clinic or monitored at home, appears beneficial but type, intensity and duratio...