Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 25, 2025

The Transition to an Anterior-Based Muscle Sparing Approach Improves Early Postoperative Function but is Associated with a Learning Curve
Published on: September 7, 2022
Effect of prehabilitation in older adults undergoing total joint replacement: An Overview of Systematic Reviews
Gustavo J Almeida1, Samannaaz S Khoja2, Boris A Zelle3
1Department of Physical Therapy, School of Health Professions, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio; Department of Orthopaedics, Long School of Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.
Purpose Of Review:
To review and discuss the findings of systematic reviews that synthesized the evidence on the effect of preoperative exercises (prehabilitation) on postoperative functional recovery in older adults undergoing total knee or hip joint replacement.
Recent Findings:
Ten systematic reviews (8 meta-analyses) were included in this review. Findings from the systematic reviews indicated that prehabilitation decreases length of hospital stay but does not improve postoperative functional recovery in older adults undergoing joint replacement. Individual studies in the systematic reviews varied considerably in prehabilitation protocol, assessment timepoints, and outcome measures. Most importantly, systematic reviews did not assess the outcomes pre-post prehabilitation as this timepoint was not addressed in most individual studies. Therefore, it is not known whether the prehabilitation programs improved outcomes preoperatively.
Summary:
There is a need to develop comprehensive prehabilitation protocols and systematically assess the preoperative and postoperative effectiveness of prehabilitation protocols on functional outcomes (i.e., self-reported and performance-based) in older adults undergoing total joint replacement.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Pharmacodynamics in Geriatric Patients: Effects of Age
Peripheral Artery Disease V: Postoperative Nursing Management

