Everyday Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior After Total Joint Arthroplasty: Do Patients and Partners Develop an Active Lifestyle?

Tobias Kalisch; Frank Horst; Georg Gosheger; Christoph Theil; Leonie Seeber; Burkhard Moellenbeck

doi:10.2147/CIA.S295160

Everyday Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior After Total Joint Arthroplasty: Do Patients and Partners Develop an Active Lifestyle?

Clin Interv Aging. 2021 Mar 4:16:403-413. doi: 10.2147/CIA.S295160. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Tobias Kalisch¹, Frank Horst², Georg Gosheger¹, Christoph Theil¹, Leonie Seeber¹, Burkhard Moellenbeck¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Orthopedics and Tumor Orthopedics, Muenster University Hospital, Muenster, 48149, Germany.
² Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, St. Josef-Stift Sendenhorst, Sendenhorst, 48324, Germany.

Abstract

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a frequent cause of pain and disability, affecting half of the world's population aged 65 years or older. Due to experienced pain and limitations, OA patients generally spend most of their waking hours sedentary and fail to adhere to physical activity (PA) recommendations. As a result of living together with OA patients, their partners might adopt a sedentary lifestyle. This study investigates the change in habitual PA and sedentary behavior (SB) in patients and their partners one year after the patients' total joint replacement (arthroplasty) and inpatient rehabilitation.

Methods: This is a follow-up of a prospective cohort study including 24 older couples (69.3±7.8 years, gender ratio 11:13) consisting of OA patients (17 hip OA, 7 knee OA) and their partners. The participants' habitual PA and SB were assessed by means of synchronous accelerometry (16h per day, 4-7 days) and additional self-report.

Results: Although the partners (~6300 steps per day) were significantly more active than the patients (~4800 steps per day) before arthroplasty, their lifestyle was still classified "low active". Irrespective of the method used, the PA and SB parameters of patients and partners were significantly correlated before arthroplasty (accelerometry: r≥0.333, p≤0.001; self-report: r≥0.569, p≤0.004). Following the patients' arthroplasty, no improvement in PA or SB was observed either in the patients or their partners. A detailed evaluation of accelerometric data on hourly basis revealed no change in behavior for both groups. Furthermore, their everyday activities remained correlated (accelerometry: r≥0.418, p≤0.001; questionnaire: r≥0.554, p≤0.005).

Conclusion: One year post-arthroplasty and inpatient rehabilitation neither the OA patients nor their partners had changed their PA or SB. Their everyday physical activity was still strongly intertwined. Further research is needed to determine why behavior change does not occur even though the prerequisites are in place.

Keywords: arthroplasty; dyads; osteoarthritis; physical activity; sedentary behavior.

MeSH terms

Accelerometry
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip / statistics & numerical data*
Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee / statistics & numerical data*
Exercise / physiology*
Female
Humans
Life Style
Male
Middle Aged
Osteoarthritis, Hip / surgery
Osteoarthritis, Knee / surgery
Pain
Prospective Studies
Sedentary Behavior*
Self Report

Grants and funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. We acknowledge support from the Open Access Publication Fund of the University of Muenster.