Bilateral Isokinetic Knee Rehabilitation Following Bilateral Total Knee Replacement Surgery
in Journal of Sport RehabilitationClick name to view affiliation
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A 67-year-old male underwent bilateral total knee replacement surgery and was subsequently placed on a bilateral isokinetic knee rehabilitation program. Isokinetic knee testing was performed on unilateral dominant (UD; right) and nondominant (UND; left) limbs as well as bilateral limbs (BLs) before and after a three-times-per-week, 8-week protocol during which the patient followed a bilateral isokinetic velocity spectrum (60 to 300°/s) rehabilitation program. The protocol was made possible by the introduction of a new bilateral isokinetic knee attachment developed by the authors. The BL extension and flexion peak torque increased 41% and 51% at 60°/s, respectively. The UD and UND extension peak torque increased 22% and 37%, respectively, while flexion peak torque increased 68% and 52%, respectively. The bilateral deficit decreased with increasing velocity for both extension and flexion. These results demonstrate that a bilateral isokinetic approach to rehabilitation may be a legitimate technique to increase knee extension and flexion peak torque both unilaterally and bilaterally following bilateral total knee replacement surgery.
Lee E. Brown and David N. Buchalter are with South Palm Orthopedics, 16244 South Military Trail, Suite 590, Delray Beach, FL 33484. Michael Whitehurst is with the Human Performance Laboratory, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL 33431.
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