Development of the Occupational Activities Knee Scale.

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Occupational Health
• Rehabilitation Medicine

Background:

• Assessing return-to-work feasibility post-knee surgery is crucial for patient recovery.
• Current methods lack precision in quantifying job-related physical demands on the knee.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a tool for precisely measuring the physical demands of jobs relevant to knee surgery patients.
• To improve the prediction of return-to-work capabilities.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving employed individuals and general population participants.
• Participants reported job tasks and perceived physical demand levels (low, moderate, high).
• Relative risk of tasks impacting knees was calculated and summed into a scaled score.

Main Results:

• The developed scaled score significantly distinguished between low, moderate, and high job demand levels (p < 0.0001).
• Each increase in reported demand level corresponded to a significantly higher mean scaled score.
• The scale demonstrated accuracy in quantifying knee-related occupational demands.

Conclusions:

• The Occupational Activities Knee Scale provides a precise measure of job physical demands for knee surgery patients.
• This scale can enhance occupational and healthcare providers' ability to compare job requirements.
• Improved assessment facilitates better-informed decisions regarding return to work after knee surgery.