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Updated: May 30, 2026
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Early Weight-Bearing Rehabilitation Protocol After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
Published on: March 1, 2024
[Early rehabilitation after simultaneously bilateral total knee arthroplasty]
Ni-rong Bao1, Jian-ning Zhao, Li-wu Zhou
1Department of Orthopaedics, Nanjing General Hospital of Nanjing Military Command of PLA, Jiangsu, China.
Summary
Structured rehabilitation programs for simultaneous bilateral total knee arthroplasty significantly improve patient outcomes. Early postoperative exercise, combined with multimodal analgesia, enhances knee function and reduces pain and edema.
Area of Science:
- Orthopedic Surgery
- Rehabilitation Medicine
- Biomedical Engineering
Context:
- Simultaneous bilateral total knee arthroplasty (TKA) presents unique rehabilitation challenges.
- Optimizing recovery requires tailored preoperative, early postoperative, and late postoperative strategies.
- Multimodal analgesia is crucial for facilitating early patient mobilization and exercise.
Purpose:
- To investigate the principles and methods of preoperative and postoperative rehabilitation for simultaneous bilateral TKA.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of a structured rehabilitation protocol on knee function and pain.
- To assess the incidence of thromboembolic complications following the protocol.
Summary:
- A rehabilitation protocol was implemented for 72 patients undergoing simultaneous bilateral TKA.
- Patients were encouraged to exercise early postoperatively under multimodal analgesia.
- Outcomes measured included knee function (WOMAC, ROM, 6-min walk) and pain (VAS), with thromboembolism monitoring.
Impact:
- The study demonstrated significant improvements in postoperative knee function and reductions in pain compared to preoperative levels.
- A high percentage of knees achieved excellent range of motion within weeks.
- The rehabilitation protocol was associated with a low incidence of lower limb embolism and no pulmonary embolism, highlighting its safety and efficacy.