The objective of this study was to determine whether increasing physiotherapy input from once to twice per day will result in earlier achievement of functional milestones (ie, independence in mobility and transfers) and decreased length of stay (LOS) in patients undergoing a primary total hip replacement. Patients (N=57) with primary total hip replacement were randomly assigned to the twice daily and once daily groups. The control group received usual care, and the treatment group received twice-daily physiotherapy from day 1 after surgery to discharge. This study demonstrates that patients who received twice-daily land-based physiotherapy after primary total hip replacement attained earlier achievement of functional milestones than patients that received once-daily physiotherapy. A statistically significant but not clinically significant difference was evident in the Iowa Level of Assistance score at day 3. There was no difference between the groups in Iowa Level of Assistance measures on day 6 or on LOS.
Patients who received twice-daily physiotherapy showed a trend toward earlier achievement of functional milestones; however, this finding did not translate to decreased LOS.