Independent Exercise Compared With Formal Rehabilitation Following Primary Total Knee Replacement

In this study we plan to compare the efficacy of independent exercises performed by the patients at home to formal rehabilitation therapy following primary total knee replacement. Patients will be randomized to these two cohorts at enrollment into the study and followed prospectively. Patients randomized to the formal rehabilitation cohort will receive a prescription for therapy for twelve weeks. Patients randomized to the independent exercise cohort will receive online access to a twelve-week protocol of exercises to perform at home to strengthen and improve function of the replaced joint. At enrollment, a baseline evaluation will be conducted to capture demographics, height, weight, primary diagnosis, medical comorbidities, and social supports as well as completion of the selected outcome measure, American Knee Society (AKS) Score, Knee and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS). Secondary outcomes will include the measurement of health status with use of the Short Form-12v2 (SF-12v2) and activity level with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Activity Score. At the twelve-week, six-month and twelve-month follow-up visits, the study subjects will complete the KOOS, SF-12v2, and UCLA Activity Score questionnaires. Statistical analysis will be performed to compare the outcomes between the two cohorts. Hypothesis: There will be no difference in outcomes between formal rehabilitation and independent exercises at twelve months after primary total knee replacement surgery using the American Knee Society (AKS) Knee Score.