Physiotherapy interventions in treating patients following total hip arthroplasty: a narrative review

Abstract

Introduction Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is the most common, successful modern surgical intervention in orthopedic practice. Physiotherapy interventions are a major part of patient rehabilitation following THA. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of physiotherapy interventions for improving functional outcomes following THA. Methods This narrative review was conducted on electronic platforms and databases, including PubMed, PEDro, CINAHL, and EMBASE, using a combination of search terms related to “physical therapy”, “physiotherapy”, “physical exercise”, “physiotherapy intervention”, “hip arthroplasty”, “total hip arthroplasty”, and “hip joint replacement”. Inclusion criteria included randomized controlled trials or clinical trials published in English from 2014 to 2021. Where THA was recognized as the primary concern, and physiotherapy management was one of the treatment options. Results The initial search of the databases revealed a total of 77 studies. Of those studies, 19 were selected as potentially meeting the inclusion criteria. Eventually, 10 studies were analyzed for the narrative review’s final conclusions. The evaluations supported the hypothesis that physiotherapy interventions have favorable outcomes for patients with THA. Conclusions After reviewing, it has been revealed that physiotherapy can improve physical function, balance, range of motion, muscle strength, and gait pattern following THA.

Keywords

• physiotherapy
• physical therapy
• total hip arthroplasty
• hip joint replacement