Academy Blog » knee

Thera-Band® exercise program for total knee replacement featured in Lower Extremity Review

Dr. Phil Page — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 14:21:13 +0000

Ongoing research at the University of Louisville and Bellarmine University is investigating the effectiveness of Thera-Band® resistance band exercises before surgery for total knee arthroplasty (TKA). “Prehabilitation” consists of pre-operative exercises that are meant to improve strength and functional levels before surgery with the expectation of better rehabilitation and a faster recovery after surgery.

The TKA Prehab Program was recently featured in an article in the March 2010 edition of Lower Extremity Review. The program utilizes Thera-Band resistance bands, step-up exercises, and stretching exercises. A full-color printable handout of the program is available online.

Reference: Brown K et al. 2010. Preoperative exercise boosts TKA outcomes. Lower Extremity Review: March 2010.

Visit the Thera-Band Academy Total Knee Replacement Center Here

It’s not too late to exercise years after knee arthroscopy

Dr. Phil Page — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:00:27 +0000

Meniscus tears in the knee are relatively common, particularly in middle-aged athletic individuals. Arthroscopic surgery is often performed to remove damaged cartilage. Surprisingly, some orthopedic surgeons do not prescribe physical therapy after knee arthroscopy, feeling patients can recover on their own with a few simple exercises. Unfortunately, this may lead to long-term deficits in strength, range of motion, and function. Such deficits may predispose patients to knee osteoarthritis as well.

Scandinavian researchers wanted to evaluate the effects of a functional proprioceptive-based exercise program several years after arthroscopic meniscectomy. 30 patients at 4 years after their surgery were randomly assigned to the functional training group or a non-exercising control group. Both groups were tested for functional performance, strength, and self-reported pain and quality of life before and after the 4 month study.

The exercise group was led by a physiotherapist 3 times per week. A neuromuscular exercise program was developed including foam pads, balance boards and mini-trampolines. The program emphasized closed kinetic chain exercises, muscular coactivation, reactive neuromuscular training, and functional alignment. After 4 months, the functional exercise group had significantly better function and strength than the control group.

While improvements in strength and function can be expected in an exercise group compared to a non-exercising control group, this study had 2 interesting results. First, the authors found a ‘dose-response’ effect because improvement was progressively greater with an increased number of exercise sessions: those performing more exercise got more benefit. Secondly, the exercise group had significant improvements in muscular strength and endurance, even though they didn’t perform isolated strengthening exercises. This finding is consistent with many other sensorimotor training studies demonstrating increases in strength without strength training.

According to the authors, “As the exercises require little equipment, the program can easily be adopted in clinical settings.” The progression offered by Thera-Band® Stability Trainers and Balance Boards are ideal for neuromuscular training programs.

Reference: Ericsson YB, Dahlberg LE, Roos EM. Effects of functional exercise training on performance and muscle strength after meniscectomy: a randomized trial. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2009 Apr;19(2):156-65

Visit the Thera-Band Academy Knee Meniscus Center Here

Thera-Band® program helps improve lower extremity strength and biomechanics in female athletes

Dr. Phil Page — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 10:59:31 +0000

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears occur in about one in every 3000 Americans; 80% of these injuries are non-contact, often requiring surgical reconstruction. Female athletes have a higher incidence of ACL injury, likely due to biomechanical differences compared to males. Research has focused on exercise programs that help improve these biomechanics in order to prevent ACL injuries. Dr. Dan Herman MD, PhD received a research award from Thera-Band Academy to investigate the effects of a strengthening program on jump-landing biomechanics of female athletes at the University of North Carolina. The protocol utilized Thera-Band® elastic bands and exercise balls.

Initially, Dr. Herman published a study concluding that while the protocol was effective at improving strength, the biomechanics of the athletes remained unchanged. He concluded that strengthening alone was not sufficient, and set out to find what needed to be combined with the training program. His subsequent study combined the Thera-Band strengthening protocol with video-assisted feedback, and he compared the combined intervention to a group receiving feedback only. Dr. Herman and his colleagues found that the group receiving both feedback and strengthening improved their biomechanics more than the feedback-only group. The paper won the 2008 O’Donoghue award from the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine, given to the best overall paper that deals with clinical based research or human in-vivo research. While the Thera-Band training protocol combined with video feedback improves lower extremity strength and biomechanics in female athletes, research must determine if the protocol is effective at actually reducing ACL injuries.

Herman DC, et al. 2009. The effects of strength training on the lower extremity biomechanics of female recreational athletes during a stop-jump task. Am J Sports Med. 37(7):1301-1308.

Visit the Thera-Band Academy ACL resource center here.

“Prehabilitation” with Thera-Band® helps total knee replacement patients recover better

Dr. Phil Page — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:00:49 +0000

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is common in older adults, affecting about 4.3 million in the United States. Knee OA sometimes leads to joint replacement surgery in advanced stages of the disease – nearly a half-million total knee replacements are performed annually in the US. Researchers at the University of Louisville wanted to evaluate the efficacy of a pre-operative exercise program (“prehabilitation”) for patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA) surgery. 54 older adults with knee OA were randomized into a control group (usual care) or an exercise group completing exercise 3 times per week (1 supervised session, and 2 at home). Patients used Thera-Band® Resistance Bands supplied by Thera-Band Academy.

Download the Total Knee Prehabilitation Exercise Program here

The study, published in Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, found that prehab participants significantly increased their leg strength and mobility after surgery, while the control group did not. At 3 months after surgery, the prehab group improved performance on all 4 functional tasks, in contrast to the control group who improved in only 2 out of the 4. Lead investigator, Robert Topp PhD RN, noted, “This Thera-Band exercise program definitely supports the theory of prehabilitation in total knee patients.” Dr. Topp published a similar summary article in the ICAA publication, Functional U. A pre-operative strengthening program with Thera-Band Resistance Bands can help improve function after total knee surgery compared to no pre-op training.

Visit the Thera-Band Total Knee Replacement Center Here

Thera-Band Loop Exercise Videos

Dr. Phil Page — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:00:44 +0000

Check out these videos using the Thera-Band Loop for shoulder and lower extremity exercises with 3 of the nation’s top physical therapists and performance enhancement specialists:

Todd Ellenbecker, DPT, Physiotherapy Associates, Phoenix AZ

Sue Falsone PT ATC, Athletes Performance, Tempe AZ

Bart Bishop DPT, Sport & Spine Rehabilitation, Washington DC

Click here to learn more about the Thera-Band Loops