Measurement of physical activity in the pre- and early post-operative period after total knee arthroplasty for Osteoarthritis using a Fitbit Flex device

Abstract

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a standard treatment for patients with end stage knee Osteoarthritis (OA) to reduce pain and restore function. The aim of this study was to assess pre- and early post-operative physical activity (PA) with Fitbit Flex devices for patients with OA undergoing TKA and determine any benchmarks for expected post-operative activity. Significant correlations of pre-operative step count, post-operative step count, Body Mass Index (BMI) and Short Form 12 Physical Component Summaries (SF-12 PCS) were found. Mean step counts varied by 3,203 steps per day between obese and healthy weight patients, and 3,786 steps per day between those with higher and lower SF-12 PCS scores, suggesting the need for benchmarks for recovery that vary by patient pre-operative factors. A backwards stepwise regression model developed to provide patient specific step count predictions at 6 weeks had an R² of 0.754, providing a robust patient specific benchmark for post-operative recovery, while population means from BMI and SF-12 subgroups provide a clinically practical alternative.

Keywords: Early recovery period; Pedometer; Physical activity; Step count; Total knee arthroplasty.