Aims and objectives: To determine the effects of health education on postoperative pain, the practice of rehabilitative exercises and functional recovery of total knee-replacement patients.
Background: Most total knee-replacement patients experience pain and limited physical activities during recovery and rehabilitation. Many patients fail to implement an effective rehabilitation plan because of the pain and a lack of practical knowledge regarding the rehabilitation process.
Design: Quasi-experimental design.
Methods: We recruited 92 total knee-replacement patients for our study. The experimental group (n = 42) received a health-educational intervention. The control group (n = 50) received routine care.
Results: The experimental group reported lower levels of postoperative pain than the control group. The stair-climbing ability of the experimental group was superior to that of the control group. The experimental group also had superior scores for regular straight-leg raises and muscle power of the affected leg, compared with the control group.
Conclusion: The preoperative health-educational intervention reduced the level of postoperative pain experience by total knee-replacement patients, increased the regularity with which they performed rehabilitative exercises and accelerated the recovery of their physical functioning.
Relevance to clinical practice: The health-educational model can be included in regular clinical management and care of total knee-replacement patients.
Keywords: functional recovery; functional status; health education; knee movement; muscle power; pain; quadriceps setting; rehabilitation exercise; straight-leg raises; total knee replacement.
© 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.