Effect of an Innovative Biofeedback Insole on Patient Rehabilitation after Total Knee Arthroplasty

Abstract

Partial weight bearing is fundamental to rehabilitation in the early stages following lower limb surgery. However, it remains debated as to how to properly achieve partial weight bearing while avoiding complications from excessive or premature load. Of the devices currently on the market, instrumented insoles coupled with force-sensitive resistors (FSRs) are among the best options in today’s clinical practice. Still, although several of these systems have been developed in the last few years, only some have been validated, leaving insufficient information on their application in rehabilitation after total knee replacement (TKR). To address this research gap, we evaluated the performance of an innovative biofeedback insole system featuring an extremely low response time for real-time force feedback. We randomly recruited 30 patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty. All patients used the new programmable insole for partial weight bearing per post-operative rehabilitation protocol. Our results confirm their inability to perform a correct gait with low partial weight bearing (<30–50% of their bodyweight). Partial weight bearing with a correct gait in the post-operative period is not obtainable without a measuring system. This new biofeedback insole is thus one of the most indicated and can improve rehabilitation compliance, therefore allowing continual patient monitoring for faster discharge and fast-track rehabilitation.

Keywords

• biofeedback
• knee arthroplasty
• partial weight bearing
• fast-track rehabilitation