Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the factors that influence the preoperative life space of patients with severe knee osteoarthritis who are candidates for total knee arthroplasty (TKA).

Methods: To investigate factors affecting LSA, 70 patients had their life-space assessment (LSA), timed up and go test (TUG), and pain-related factors assessed before TKA. The patient's fear of movement was assessed by listening to their reports during movements.

Results: TUG was independently associated with fear of movement according to multiple regression analysis with LSA as the dependent variable. Approximately 67.1% of patients reported that stair climbing was the source of their fear during movement.

Conclusion: TUG and fear of movement were found to affect the living space of patients with severe knee osteoarthritis who were candidates for TKA.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between preoperative walking speed and hospital discharge within 14 days after total knee arthroplasty (TKA).

Methods: The study included 294 patients who underwent TKA from April, 2016 to March, 2021. We divided the patients into two groups: an early-discharge group (≦14 days) and a delayed-transfer group (>14 days), based on discharge home 14 days postoperatively. We investigated the preoperative walking speed of the patients, and compared it between the two groups. Furthermore, we investigated whether preoperative walking speed is a risk factor for difficulty in discharge home within 14 days after surgery using logistic regression analysis.

Results: The preoperative walking speed of the delayed-transfer group was significantly slower than that of the early-discharge group (P<0.01). Furthermore, it was found that low preoperative walking speed was a risk factor that made discharge difficult within 14 days after surgery.

Conclusion: These results suggest that evaluation of preoperative walking speed is useful for predicting whether patients can be discharged within 14 days after TKA.

Objective: External validation of the model is an important step toward clinical implementation. This study aimed to externally validate the prediction model for gait independence at discharge in older patients who had suffered a hip fracture.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we collected data from 163 older patients with hip fractures who were admitted to convalescent rehabilitation wards. Discrimination and calibration were examined in a validation cohort of a model that predicts gait independence at discharge based on cognitive function and balance at admission.

Results: Compared with the development cohort, the area under the curve was comparable in discrimination, with higher sensitivity and lower specificity. Using calibration plots, the predicted and observed probabilities were consistent for patients with a high probability of gait independence. However, for patients with a moderate to low probability of gait independence, the prediction was an underprediction, with a higher observation probability than the prediction probability.

Conclusion: External validation of the prediction model for gait independence at discharge after hip fractures resulted in acceptable performance, despite some calibration problems. These results suggest that the predictive model can be used for older patients with hip fractures who are in convalescent rehabilitation wards.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quantitative differences in muscle activity within the rectus femoris (RF) muscle.

Methods: The subjects were eight healthy males. Maximum voluntary contraction of the RF muscle from 0 to 100% for hip flexion (HF) and knee extension (KE) was performed. Electromyograms (EMG) were obtained using a four surface EMG of the distal and proximal parts of the RF muscle.

Results: There were no significant differences in the gradual increase in integrated EMG (IEMG) between HF and KE between 1ch, 2ch, 3ch and 4ch on the proximal part of the RF muscle. In the distal parts of the muscle, on the other hand, IEMG increase during KE was significantly greater than that during HF. The HF/KE ratio in the distal RF muscle was significantly lower than that in 1ch and 2ch.

Conclusion: We observed no differences in muscle activity in the proximal parts of the RF muscle between KE and HF. However, distal muscle activity was found to be lower with HF than KE.

Objective: This survey aims to report on the awareness and clinical application of the second edition of the physical therapy guidelines for functional disorders of the low back, hip, knee, and ankle/toes.

Methods: We conducted a questionnaire survey on respondent demographics as well as recognition and clinical application of the second edition of the physical therapy guidelines for functional disorders related to musculoskeletal physiotherapy. We analyzed the breakdown of the responses obtained for dysfunction related to the low back, hip, knee, and ankle /toes.

Results: Regarding the status of the implementation of physical therapy guidelines, most respondents were implementing these guidelines as explanations to patients or as choices of physical therapy. The results showed that the Clinical Questionnaires (CQs) were generally consistent with the clinical issues, and many respondents answered that patient outcomes had improved.

Conclusion: The second edition of the physical therapy guidelines for functional disorders of the low back, hip, knee, and ankle/toes were effective in terms of the degree of conformity with clinical issues and improvement in outcomes in each CQs.