Our results showed that TKR patients who received a cog- nitive-behavioural educational intervention performed sig- nificantly better than control patients in terms of their eating and stair-climbing abilities before discharge. The reg- ularity of performing straight-leg raises following surgery was also improved following the pre- and postoperative use of health education, and the level of pain experienced by patients who received health education was lower than that of the control group during the first two days after surgery.