Numbness Around the Total Knee Arthroplasty Surgical Scar: Prevalence and Effect on Functional Outcome.

Background: Numbness around the surgical scar can be a source of discomfort or dissatisfaction in a proportion of patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Literature reports wide variation in its prevalence and the consequence of numbness on the outcome of TKA is not clear. We investigated the prevalence of numbness, along with contributing factors, and assessed its effect on the functional outcome of TKA.

Testing the integration of ICF and behavioral models of disability in orthopedic patients: replication and extension.

Objective: Disability from chronic illness is a major problem for society, yet the study of its determinants lacks an overall theoretical paradigm. Johnston (1996) has proposed conceptualizing disability as behavior and integrating biomedical and behavioral predictors. Dixon, Johnston, Rowley, and Pollard (2008) tested a model including constructs from the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) using structural equation modeling; it fitted better and explained more variance than the ICF or TPB alone.

Dysfunction of the posterior cruciate ligament in total knee arthroplasty.

Purpose: Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is typically carried out either with retention (CR) of the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) or with sacrifice of this ligament and implantation of a posterior stabilised (PS) prosthesis. This paper investigates a comparison of PCL function in knees treated for osteoarthritis with TKA where the PCL is preserved to those knees treated with TKA and posterior stabilisation.

Methods: One hundred and sixty-eight patients (232 knees) who had undergone TKA with either a PS or CR implant were included in the study.

Activity and affect: repeated within-participant assessment in people after joint replacement surgery.

Objective: Between-participant research has shown that high negative affectivity predicts greater activity limitations and vice versa. This study examined both between- and within-participant associations of negative and positive affectivity with activity levels using ecological momentary assessment.

Method: Participants were 25 people who had undergone joint replacement surgery 12 months previously.