Return to Cycling After Total Joint Arthroplasty

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Sports Medicine

Background:

• Total joint arthroplasty (TJA) is increasingly performed in younger patients with higher activity expectations.
• Accurate counseling on post-TJA return to cycling is essential for managing patient expectations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the rate of return to cycling after TJA.
• To assess factors influencing return to cycling, including surgery type.
• To evaluate the safety of returning to cycling post-TJA.

Main Methods:

• An online survey was administered to TJA patients with at least 3 months of follow-up.
• Patients were categorized by surgery type: single total hip arthroplasty (THA), single total knee arthroplasty (TKA), multiple TJA, and revision TJA.
• Return to cycling rates and timing were analyzed based on surgery type and patient history.

Main Results:

• Nearly all surveyed patients (94%) who cycled pre-surgery returned to cycling.
• Most patients returned to their previous cycling level within 3-6 months.
• Revision TJA patients had significantly lower return-to-cycling rates (37.3%) compared to single TKA (60.3%), single THA (61.9%), and multi-TJA (60.3%).
• Patients not returning to cycling had higher revision rates (14.4%) than those who did (9.2%).

Conclusions:

• A high proportion of TJA patients successfully return to cycling, typically within 3-6 months.
• Revision TJA is associated with lower return-to-cycling rates.
• Returning to cycling post-TJA is safe and does not increase the risk of revision surgery.