Changes in quadriceps strength after TKA are not nearly as well studied as changes in knee pain and ROM.
A shortage of information regarding quadriceps weakness is surprising, as it is a hallmark impairment in knee OA.
The disability associ-ated with knee OA has been linked to many factors, but weakness of the quadriceps muscle is considered one of the single most important predictors of disability.
Surgical procedures used in TKA involve trauma to the extensor mechanism and preoperative quadriceps weakness is dramatically compounded in early postoperative assessments.
An increasing incidence of knee OA and greater utilization of TKA stresses the need for a better understanding of how postoperative care can influence the disability associated with knee OA.
The overall goal of this investigation is to describe the time course of recovery of impairments and function, as well as to provide direction to rehabilitation efforts designed to improve function for individuals with TKA.
We hypothesized that quadriceps strength would be more strongly correlated with functional performance than knee flexion ROM or pain at all time periods studied before and after TKA, and patients with stronger quadriceps muscles would have
superior functional outcomes to those with weaker quadriceps.