HHS HealthBeat (March 11, 2009)

New Knees, Stronger Muscles

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From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

After someone with osteoarthritis gets a knee replacement, there might be physical therapy.

One thing physical therapy can do is build muscle – which can make the knee work better. A researcher found this in people who had a knee replacement because of osteoarthritis and then did exercises to strengthen their quadriceps muscles.

Lynn Snyder-Mackler of the University of Delaware says people who strengthened those thigh muscles wound up with knee function almost as good as that of healthy people their age:

[Lynn Snyder-Mackler speaks]"It’s an endorsement that patients should participate in strengthening programs after a total knee replacement if they really want to get back to function."

That’s important for even simple things like walking up and down stairs.

The study in the journal Arthritis Care and Research was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: March, 11 2009