Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Self-management is a new mode of disease intervention, and it can significantly improve the patient's health behavior and health status, while reducing the number of hospital days and lowering medical costs, which is becoming a focus for the rehabilitation after total knee arthroplasty. However, more studies are concentrated in the Western countries, and fewer reports in China.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the application value of the self-management approaches during rehabilitation exercise for the first total knee arthroplasty.
METHODS: Eighty-four patients with total knee arthroplasty were randomly divided into two groups: Experimental group received the intervention of self-management, and control group received routine care.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The intervention of self-management improved scores on patients’ ability of self-management (P < 0.05) and HSS (P < 0.05), and decreased hospitalization days and days when the knee joints were flexed beyond 90°     (P < 0.05). The self-management approaches can improve the patients’ ability of self-management, and ameliorate the knee function and the quality of life.