Influence of Hip Fracture on Knee Pain During Postoperative Rehabilitation

To investigate whether fracture type, surgical procedure, or fracture grade affect knee pain during postoperative rehabilitation after a hip fracture.

We conducted a retrospective case-controlled study of 139 patients during postoperative rehabilitation after surgery for hip fractures. Patients were divided into two groups: patients experiencing knee pain during the first week of postoperative rehabilitation, and patients without knee pain. We compared the types of fracture, surgical procedure, and fracture grade between the two groups.

We enrolled 52 patients (37.4%) with knee pain during the first weeks of postoperative rehabilitation. For type of fracture, knee pain was more common with intertrochanteric fracture than with femur neck fracture (48.8% vs. 21.1%, respectively; p=0.001). For the surgical procedure, there was no significant difference between the groups. For the fracture grade, the grades classified as unstable fractures were more common in the group of intertrochanteric fracture patients with knee pain than in those without knee pain (74.1% vs. 36.4%, respectively; p=0.002).

Intertrochanteric fracture affected knee pain after hip fracture surgery more than did femur neck fracture, particularly in unstable fractures. Furthermore, there was no difference in each fracture type according to the surgical procedure. Careful examination and management for knee pain is needed in patients with hip fracture surgery.