(Ivanhoe Newswire) – For most people, standing up from a sitting
position no problem. But for people with severe knee pain, it’s a major
effort, and many learn to cope by changing the muscles they use to get the
job done.
Now a new study out of the University of Delaware finds people with severe
knee pain tend to maintain the revamped procedure even after they’ve had
total replacement knee surgery to treat their condition.
“What is interesting about the study is that it shows that, even following
surgery, this strategy continued as patients’ muscle strength improved,”
study author Lynn Snyder-Mackler, P.T., Sc.D., S.C.S., A.T.C., F.A.P.T.A.,
was quoted as saying.
The investigators believe the strategy people use when they’re hurting
becomes an ingrained habit that must be unlearned after surgery. They lean
forward to rise up Maintaining the incorrect method could also increase the
risk for knee osteoarthritis down the road.
The good news is retraining with a physical therapist about four to six
weeks following knee surgery can help people relearn the proper way to get
up from a chair.
SOURCE: Physical Therapy, published online May 1, 2008
