title: Are bed exercises necessary following hip arthroplasty?
abstract: This study investigated whether a program of bed exercises increased the effectiveness of a mobility regimen during the acute period of hospitalisation, for patients who had undergone primary hip arthroplasty. Forty-two patients were randomly allocated, using a concealed allocation procedure, to one of two groups. Patients in the control group were mobilised according to a standard post-operative protocol. Patients in the exercise group were also mobilised using this protocol but in addition received a program of bed exercises. Severity of pain, range of active hip flexion and hip abduction, and a functional assessment were measured by a blinded assessor on the third or fourth post-operative day and again on the seventh or eighth post-operative day. Significant improvements were found in all outcome measures from the third or fourth post-operative day to the seventh or eighth post-operative day. No significant differences were seen between groups for any outcome measures at either measurement time. Bed exercises do not appear to be of additional benefit to a mobility regimen during the period of acute hospitalisation after primary hip arthroplasty.
authors.affiliation: Physiotherapy Department, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, SA, Australia. cjesudas@mail.rah.sa.gov.au
authors.forename: Christabel
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jesudason
authors.forename: Kathy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stiller
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D019644:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip / Q000379:methods / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011336:Probability; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012016:Reference Values; D012494:Sampling Studies; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D016896:Treatment Outcome