• Masato Kiyohara, Satoshi Hamai, Ken Okazaki, Daisuke Fujiyoshi, Hideki Mizu-Uchi, and Yasuharu Nakashima.
• Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan.
• Arch Orthop Trauma Surg. 2022 Nov 1; 142 (11): 3461-3467.

IntroductionThe purpose of this study was to evaluate balance function before and after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) using Berg balance scale (BBS). The study also aimed to identify factors associated with balance impairment.Materials And MethodsNinety-three knees in 90 patients were prospectively evaluated using their BBS scores, passive knee extension/flexion angles, Visual analogue scale for pain scores, hip-knee-ankle angles, and knee extensor/flexor muscle strengths before and after TKA. A total BBS score of less than 45 indicates an enhanced risk of multiple falls. Multivariate logistic regression models were performed to elucidate factors associated with post-operative BBS score.ResultsA significant difference in mean pre- and post-operative BBS scores were noted (49.3 ± 6.4 vs. 52.2 ± 4.7) (p < 0.05). The percentage of pre- and post-operative BBS scores less than 45 were 20% and 10% (p < 0.05). Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), lower pre-operative BBS score, and larger post-operative knee flexion contracture were significantly associated with lower post-operative BBS score (p < 0.01). The post-operative knee flexion contracture greater than 10° was significantly associated with substantially high odds of post-operative BBS scores less than 45 (Odds ratio 7.6; 95% confidential interval 1.69-34.17).ConclusionsWhile TKA significantly improved BBS scores, 10% of the patients remained at a risk for multiple falls. RA, lower pre-operative BBS score, and post-operative knee flexion contracture greater than 10° retained balance impairment even after TKA.© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

20 keywords...

hide…