Return to Sports and Physical Activities Following Mobile-Bearing Unicompartmental Knee Replacement

Abstract

Background: Physical activity after a joint replacement surgery is one of the most important factors for a satisfactory quality of life for the patients. This study aimed to assess postoperative pain, rate of return to sports, intensity of athletic involvement, postoperative functional outcome, and level of satisfaction after unicompartmental knee replacement (UKR) with a mobile-bearing prosthesis at a minimum follow-up of two years after surgery. Methods: Forty-two patients who had previously undergone a mobile-bearing UKR surgery were enrolled in the study. The mean age at surgery was 67.8 ± 2.5 years. The average follow-up was 3.2 ± 1.5 years. Sports activity was reported for each patient. Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Tegner activity level, Knee Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), and International Knee Documentation Committee Subjective score were determined. Data were analyzed to detect statistically significant differences between preoperatory status and follow-up. Results: The mean KOOS demonstrated a statistically significant difference from preoperative (48.7 ± 5.4) to postoperative (86.5 ± 4.7; p < 0.0001) status. VAS scores significantly decreased from a median of 6.5 (range 2 to 9) to 1.0 (range 0 to 3) at follow-up (p < 0.0001). Tegners activity level increased from a median of 3.5 (range 1 to 6) preoperatively to a median of 4.5 (range 1 to 8) postoperatively (p < 0.0001). Eighty-three percent of patients (35 of 42) returned to sports activities successfully. In the subgroup of patients engaged in a sport before surgery, the percentage increased to 92%. Conclusions: Evidence suggests that mobile-bearing UKR enables a significant percentage of patients suffering from unicompartmental knee osteoarthritis to resume sports activity while also improving pain scores and overall functional and subjective outcomes. Most patients who successfully returned to physical activity engaged in low-impact sports.