Practice of a Perceptual Function-based Intervention for a Patient with Persistent Postoperative Pain after Total Knee Arthroplasty

Abstract

[Purpose] In this study, we report the improvement of walking ability of a patient with persistent postoperative pain after total knee arthroplasty after performing a task to improve perceptual function. [Participant and Methods] The participant, a woman in her eighties, underwent outpatient physical therapy because of decreased perceptual function, pain during walking, and lack of improvement in walking ability. Interventions included a knee and ankle joint position perception task, a hardness discrimination task, and a task to recognize alignment changes. Evaluation was based on the number of correct responses to the knee and ankle positional awareness and hardness discrimination tasks. [Results] The knee and ankle joint positional awareness improved and the number of correct answers to the hardness discrimination task increased. In addition, pain during walking disappeared, and perceptual function, fear of movement, self-efficacy, and walking ability all improved. [Conclusion] The results suggest that interventions to enhance perceptual function are necessary for patients after total knee arthroplasty after consideration of fear of movement and self-efficacy.