New in the Literature: Continuous Passive Motion Post-total Knee Arthroplasty (J Arthoplasty. 2012; 27:193-200.)
Continuous passive motion (CPM) gives no benefit in immediate functional recovery post-total knee arthroplasty (TKA), and the postoperative knee swelling persisted longer, say authors of an article published in the Journal of Arthroplasty.
Researchers at the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Lilavati Hospital and Research Centre, in Mumbai, India, prospectively assigned 84 patients with TKA to 1 of the 3 standard rehabilitation regimes—no CPM, 1-day CPM, and 3-day CPM. They recorded a Timed Up and Go test, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Index (WOMAC), and short form-12 (SF-12), in addition to range of motion, knee and calf swelling, pain, and wound healing parameters.
Standardized and elaborate measurements preoperatively and on postoperative days 3, 5, 14, 42, and 90 showed no statistically significant difference among the 3 groups in each parameter.