Introduction:

Total knee arthroplasty is currently a fairly widely used surgical procedure. Physiotherapy is essential in the treatment to achieve greater functionality of the substituted joint.

Objective:

To evaluate the effect of rehabilitation treatment before and after surgery in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty.

Methods:

A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in 87 patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty at Frank País International Orthopedic Scientific Complex, from January 2015 to December 2017. The variables analyzed were age, sex, pain, function, behavior of flexion deformity and stability, and compliance with rehabilitation treatment before and after surgery. Descriptive statistics (absolute and relative frequency) were used in the information processing. Measures of central tendency (mean, median) and dispersion (standard deviation) were also used.

Results:

Female sex and age group > 60 years predominated. All patients reported pain before surgery. During post-surgery period, 79.3% of the patients were painless, according to the visual analogue scale (VAS). Before surgery, 52.9% walked less than 100 meters, after the post-surgery therapy all patients were able to walk. There was a predominance of patients with good response to rehabilitative therapy after rehabilitation treatment before and after surgery (71.26%).

Conclusions:

Rehabilitation treatment before and after surgery in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty allowed better use of the joint, eliminating pain and increasing muscle strength.

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