Physical rehabilitation versus no physical rehabilitation after total hip and knee arthroplasty: A replication trial in 169 patients with a 12-month follow-up (DRAW2)

ImportanceAlthough physical rehabilitation is widely recommended after total hip (THA) and knee (TKA) arthroplasty, its fundamental clinical effectiveness--defined as the added benefit beyond natural recovery--remains uncertain. We recently published the DRAW1 trial and did not find physical rehabilitation to be superior to no physical rehabilitation following THA and TKA. This was a challenging finding, and its validity was questioned by the rehabilitation community, so we decided to replicate the DRAW1 trial using the same trial design and site. ObjectiveTo replicate the DRAW1 trial by comparing the effectiveness of 6-weeks of home-based telerehabilitation, home-based rehabilitation or no physical rehabilitation following THA and TKA in terms of self-reported function. Design3-arm parallel-group randomized, controlled, replication trial with blinded outcome assessments. 479 patients (221 THA/258 TKA) were screened for eligibility before the targeted sample size was reached. Following discharge, 52 patients were randomized to home-based telerehabilitation, 58 to home-based rehabilitation, and 59 to no physical rehabilitation for 6 weeks. Outcome measures were assessed blinded in an outpatient-setting at baseline (post-discharge), at the end of intervention (6 weeks - primary endpoint), and 3 and 12 months postoperatively. The primary outcome was the Hip disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (HOOS)/ Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS)-subscale: function in daily living (ADL). ResultsIn the primary intention-to-treat analysis--comparing physical rehabilitation (home-based telerehabilitation and home-based rehabilitation) to no physical rehabilitation--the mean group-differences for the primary outcome were -0.5 (95%CI: -3.1 to 2.1; p = 0.70) KOOS/HOOS points at 6 weeks (primary endpoint; MCID=10 KOOS/HOOS points), and 0.8 (95%CI: -1.7 to 3.4; p = 0.52) and 0.4 (95%CI: -2.2 to 2.9; p = 0.48) points at the 3- and 12-months follow-ups, respectively. ConclusionThe main finding from the DRAW1 trial was replicated: once again we did not find physical rehabilitation to be superior to no physical rehabilitation following THA or TKA in terms of self-reported function. Thus, the fundamental clinical effectiveness of physical rehabilitation in this clinical context could not be established.