Pilates for Total Hip or Total Knee Arthroplasty
Sam’s world view
Each month we hear from Sam Wood - she summarises the most recent articles published in the Pilates industry.
Pilates for Total Hip or Total Knee Arthroplasty
Orthopedic surgeons William Jaffe and Brett Levine, along with RN and Pilates Instructor Beth Kaplanek developed a specific Pilates protocol for patients to follow after total hip (THA) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The authors tout Pilates as an integrative approach for a complete body workout that can be easily modified depending on the individual limitations and surgeon-based restrictions. Patients who expressed interest in Pilates were encouraged to start training preoperatively with a certified Pilates instructor, and to begin the postoperative program within 2 weeks of discharge from the hospital. They prescribe a specific set of modified Pilates mat exercises for both the THR and TKR patients, which is to be performed a minimum of 3 to 4 times per week for at least one hour.
After one year 38 patients (21 THAs and 17 TKAs) who did the prescribed Pilates protocol were followed up with via chart notes and phone calls and reported the following results: 25 were extremely satisfied, 13 were satisfied, and 0 were somewhat satisfied or not satisfied. 73% of the women in the study reported continuing with Pilates on a routine basis.
In addition, the senior author reports the use of Pilates with his patients for the prior 5 years without a single negative event and a high degree of patient satisfaction both physically and emotionally. This is a preliminary report on a small series of patients, and as such did not set out to prove that Pilates is better than traditional therapy; but to offer it as a viable option for rehabilitation after total hip and knee arthroplasty.
References
Levine et al. 2009. Pilates Training for Use in Rehabilitation after Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty: A Preliminary Report. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research 467:1468-75.
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