Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Apr 22, 2024
Date Accepted: Jun 27, 2024
Efficacy of real-time feedback exercise therapy in patients following total hip arthroplasty: protocol of a pilot cluster-randomized controlled trial
ABSTRACT
Background:
Osteoarthritis of the hip joint is an increasing functional and health-related problem. The most common surgical treatment is hip replacement to reduce pain and improve function. Rehabilitation after hip arthroplasty is not regulated in Austria and mostly depends on the patient's own initiative and possibilities. Functional deficits such as valgus thrust of the leg, functional Trendelenburg gait or Duchenne limp are characteristic symptoms before and, due to performance learning effect prior to surgery, also after the operation. Addressing these deficits is possible through neuromuscular-focused exercise therapy. The efficacy of such therapy relies significantly on the quality of performance, the frequency of exercise, and the duration of engagement. Enhancing sustainability is achievable through increased motivation and real-time feedback on exercise execution facilitated by digital feedback systems.
Objective:
This study is performed to quantify the medium-term effectiveness of digital feedback systems on functional performance following total hip arthroplasty.
Methods:
A clinical trial with a cluster-randomized, two-arm, parallel-group design with an eight-week intervention phase and subsequent follow-ups at three and six months post-surgery, will be conducted. The feedback during exercising will be provided by a blended- care program, combining a supervised group-exercise program with a self-developed digital feedback system for home-exercising. Seventy patients will be recruited for baseline. The primary outcome parameters will be the frontal knee range of motion, pelvic obliquity, and lateral trunk lean. Secondary outcomes are the sum scores of patient-reported outcomes, and relevant kinematic, kinetic and spatio-temporal parameters.
Results:
As the trial is ongoing results will be available by June 2025.
Conclusions:
The anticipated findings of this study aim to offer new insights on the effect of a blended-care program incorporating digital real-time feedback in exercise therapy after unilateral total hip arthroplasty, and also knowledge on the functional status three- and six-months post-surgery based on the quantitative data of three-dimensional movement analyses. Clinical Trial: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06161194. Prospectively registered on 7th December 2023. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06161194
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