Return to work and sporting activities after high tibial osteotomy

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic surgery
• Biomechanics
• Sports medicine

Background:

• Medial knee osteoarthritis and varus malalignment often necessitate surgical intervention.
• High tibial osteotomy (HTO) is a surgical procedure to correct knee alignment.
• Assessing functional recovery post-HTO is crucial for patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate return to work after high tibial osteotomy (HTO) based on work intensity.
• To analyze the restoration of sports ability and changes in activity levels post-HTO.
• To assess pain reduction and overall health status following HTO.

Main Methods:

• Fifty-one patients undergoing HTO were categorized into three groups based on work intensity.
• Sports activity was measured using the Naal score.
• Clinical outcomes were assessed using Tegner, Lysholm, and Visual Analog Pain Scale (VAS).

Main Results:

• 93.8% of patients returned to their pre-operative work load within 16.7 weeks.
• No significant change in Tegner activity scores was observed.
• Patients reported an average decrease of 2.6 points in VAS pain scores and an average Lysholm score of 68.7.

Conclusions:

• HTO facilitates a return to pre-operative work intensity for most patients.
• 92.3% of patients returned to their pre-operative sports activities.
• A notable shift from high-impact to low-impact sports was observed post-surgery.