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Soft tissue balance and recovery of proprioception after total knee replacement
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Location: http://www.jbjs.org.uk/cgi/reprint/78-B/4/540
Description: Decreasing proprioception of the knee is
multifactorial and is a function of age and
degenerative joint disease. Soft-tissue release during
total knee replacement may have an influence. We
have quantified soft-tissue imbalance at the time of
knee replacement and attempted to eliminate it at full
extension, using established methods.
We studied the influence of residual soft-tissue
imbalance on postoperative proprioception, assessing
this in 38 patients before total knee replacement and
at three and six months postoperatively.
We found that proprioception improved in varus
knees at three and six months after soft-tissue
balancing procedures. Knees balanced in full extension
and in flexion (<±2°) showed a significant
improvement in proprioception (p <0.0005) whereas
those which were not balanced in flexion but fully
balanced in extension had no significant improvement.
We conclude that soft-tissue balance in both flexion
and extension is important to allow satisfactory
postoperative proprioception of the knee.
S. F. ATTFIELD, T. J. WILTON, D. J. PRATT, A.
SAMBATAKAKIS J Bone Joint Surg [Br] 1996;78-B:540-5
Type: Reference Material
Author/Contact: Not Available
Institution: JBJS-B
Primary Subject/Category:
Language: English
Submitted by: admin
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Added: Sat Sep 12 2009