Most patients gain weight after getting a new knee
Patients who have had knee replacement surgery and who should be able to walk and exercise without pain actually gain rather than lost weight, according to a University of Delaware study.
Researchers Joseph Zeni and Lynn Snyder-Mackler in the Department of Physical Therapy in UD’s College of Health Sciences found that patients typically drop weight in the first few weeks after total knee arthroplasty (TKA), but then the number on the scale starts creeping upward, with an average weight gain of 14 pounds (around 7 kg) in two years.
The research, reported in Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, the official journal of the Osteoarthritis Research Society International, found that those who had the knee replacement surgery started out heavier and ended heavier than the control group.
The weaker the surgery patients were, as measured by the strength of the quadriceps, the more weight they gained.
For physical therapists and surgeons, the common thinking is that after a patient’s knee has been replaced, that patient will be more active but the practices and habits these patients developed to get around in the years prior to surgery are hard to break, and often they don’t take advantage of the functional gain once they get a new knee.
“We need to re-train patients with new knees to walk more normally and more systematically. And we need to encourage more community participation,” Dr Snyder-Mackler said.
“If you’re not getting out of the house, you won’t gain the benefit. We need people with new knees to get out there – with the help of their family, their friends, and the community at large.”
