Return to physical activity after revision total knee arthroplasty: Comparative insights with primary procedure

While the return to physical activity (RTPA) after primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is well-documented, research on RTPA after revision TKA remains limited. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the resumption of physical activity following revision TKA by comparing outcomes with a control group of primary TKA patients.

A total of 110 revision TKA patients were matched 1:1 with 521 primary TKA patients with a minimum of 2 years of follow-up. Data collected included whether or not they had returned to physical activities, as well as the type of activity and time after surgery, pre- and post-operative University of California and Los Angeles Activity Scale (UCLA) and Forgotten Joint Score (FJS).

Sixty-five and four tenths per cent of revision TKA patients returned to physical activities, with a mean delay of 8.9 months. The most common activities were walking (64.5%), biking (19.1%) and swimming (16.4%). Preoperative UCLA was the only significant predictor of RTPA. Comparatively, there were no significant differences in RTPA rates between primary TKA and revision TKA groups (72.7% vs. 65.4%, n.s), but primary TKA patients returned to activity sooner (6.3 vs. 8.9 months, p < 0.001).

This study showed that while RTPA is achievable after revision TKA in the same proportion as after primary TKA, it occurs later. These findings underline the importance of managing patient expectations regarding physical activity recovery following revision TKA.

Level III, retrospective cohort study.