Change in willingness for surgery and risk of joint replacement after an education and exercise program for hip/knee osteoarthritis: A longitudinal cohort study of 55,059 people

Abstract

Background Numerous studies report that education and exercise interventions can shift people’s willingness to undergo joint replacement surgery for osteoarthritis. We aimed to investigate whether becoming unwilling to undergo surgery following an education and exercise intervention for hip and knee osteoarthritis is associated with lower probability of receiving actual surgery. Methods and findings This was a register-based cohort study including people from the Swedish Osteoarthritis Register who underwent a 3-month education and exercise intervention for knee or hip osteoarthritis. Participants self-reported their willingness to have joint replacement surgery (‘yes’ or ‘no’) and were grou..