Prehabilitation: A proactive approach to enhancing outcomes in joint replacement surgery

J Clin Orthop Trauma. 2024 Mar 28:51:102398. doi: 10.1016/j.jcot.2024.102398. eCollection 2024 Apr.

Abstract

Prehabilitation is an emerging proactive and preventive approach to healthcare that focuses on preparing individuals for upcoming medical interventions or procedures. It aims to optimize physical and mental health before the planned medical and surgical interventions. By integrating exercise, psychological support, and lifestyle modifications, prehabilitation empowers individuals to face medical interventions with increased resilience and a higher likelihood of successful outcomes. Prehabilitation helps patients build strength and endurance, which can enhance their ability to withstand the physical stress of surgery and contribute to faster recovery. It plays a crucial role in optimizing outcomes for patients undergoing joint replacement surgery, by enhancing postoperative recovery, reducing complications, and improving the overall quality of life for patients. As the field of orthopaedics continues to evolve, the integration of prehabilitation into standard care protocols has the potential to redefine the landscape of joint replacement surgeries, ultimately improving patient outcomes, and hence more research is required from diverse population groups from developed and developing countries to collate required data and formulate evidence-based clinical guidelines.

Keywords: Arthroplasty; Complication; Knee joint; Prehabilitation; Preoperative exercise; Surgery.