Effectiveness of mobile rehabilitation App on home rehabilitation in patients after knee replacement surgery
Objective To investigate the impact of a self-developed mobile rehabilitation application (App) on the home reha-bilitation efficacy of patients undergoing knee replacement surgery (TKA) for knee osteoarthritis (KOA).Methods A total of 43 KOA patients who underwent TKA from April 2021 to April 2022 were selected and randomly assigned to two groups:the control group (n=21) receiving conventional telephone follow-ups,and the experimental group (n=22) receiving reha-bilitation guidance via the mobile app.Evaluations using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS),Active Range of Motion (AROM),Knee Society Score (KSS),and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) were conducted at discharge,two weeks post-discharge,and eight weeks post-discharge.Results None of the 43 patients dropped out,and no complications occurred within 8 weeks post-discharge.The analysis of KSS clinical scores,KSS func-tional scores,WOMAC scores,AROM,and VAS scores at different time points revealed that the time effect was statisti-cally significant (P<0.05),indicating changes over time in all measures for both groups.Group effects showed significant differences in KSS clinical scores,KSS functional scores,WOMAC scores,and AROM between groups (P<0.05),but no significant difference in VAS scores (P>0.05).Interaction effects were not statistically significant for KSS clinical scores,KSS functional scores,AROM,and VAS scores (P>0.05),but significant for WOMAC scores (P<0.05).For both ex-perimental and control groups,WOMAC total scores significantly decreased at 2 weeks and 8 weeks post-discharge com-pared to discharge (P<0.05).There was no significant difference in WOMAC total scores between the groups at discharge (P>0.05),but significant differences were noted at 2 weeks and 8 weeks post-discharge (P<0.05).Conclusion Home rehabilitation guided by the mobile rehabilitation App helps improve knee joint function and activities of daily living in pa-tients with KOA after TKA.