Sports activity after total knee arthroplasty.

In this study, patients who played sports after undergoing a total knee arthroplasty (TKA) were functionally analyzed and their degree of satisfaction was surveyed. The study group consisted of seven men and four women (out of a group of 89 total knee arthroplasties). They were evaluated by the Tegner (1) activity score and the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score (2). The mean age of the patients was 68 years (range: 47 to 76) at surgery and the mean follow-up period was 26.4 months (range: 11 to 60). Wright Advantim uncemented knee prostheses with a stem and posterior stabilizer or Wright Advance uncemented knee systems (Wright Medical, USA) were used. All operations were performed using a medial subvastus approach by the senior author (TY). The mean preoperative JOA score was 67.3 and it improved to 87.3 at follow-up. The mean Tegner score improved from 1.5 to 4 points after the operation in those patients who returned to sports. At follow-up, none of the patients demonstrated polyethylene wear, showed signs of loosening or required revision surgery. Once strength, mobility, and coordination recovered, patients were successfully allowed to return to low-impact activity such as downhill skiing, jogging, hiking, and mountaineering. It is too early to determine the effect of these increased activities on polyethylene wear and loosening. KEYWORDS: sports activity, total knee arthroplasty, osteoarthritis of the knee, skiing Language: en