Current Australian practice in pre-operative physiotherapy prior to total knee replacement surgery

Abstract

Objectives To determine the types of pre-operative physiotherapy programmes offered to patients awaiting total knee replacement surgery in Australian public hospitals. Design A postal questionnaire survey of clinical practice. Setting 51 Metropolitan public hospitals in Australia. Main outcome measures A 14-item questionnaire was designed specifically to elicit information about current programmes. Results An 86% response rate was achieved. Nine hospitals reported that they currently run pre-operative physiotherapy programmes for this patient group. All of these programmes have run for 5 years or less, were supervised by a physiotherapist and were provided at no cost to the patient. Programm..