Åsa Revenäs; Annchristin Johansson; Jerzy Leppert
This study compares the results of a hospital-based programme, Knee-class Therapy (KT), with an individual programme with limited physiotherapy appointments, Guided Therapy (GT), 6 and 12months after knee surgery, in terms of function, activity level, muscle strength, knee-joint stability and knee-joint mobility. After ACLR, 24 patients were randomized to the KT group and 27 to the GT group. Fourteen patients in the KT group and 24 in the GT group completed the physiotherapy appointments as prescribed. At 6months after surgery, the median Lysholm knee score was significantly higher in the KT group. At the 12-month follow-up, the GT group's improvement in the Lysholm knee score was significantly greater than the KT group's. Non-compliance was high in the KT group.
An individual exercise programme with limited physiotherapy appointments might be as effective as physiotherapeutic knee classes.
Advances in Physiotherapy, April 1 2008, online article ahead of press