To evaluate the efficacy of consecutive compression cryotherapy in functional rehabilitation following unilateral total knee arthroplasty (TKA).

The enrollment including 40 patients undergoing TKA from the First People’s Hospital of Lianyungang adopted consecutive compression cryotherapy devices as the experimental group without other serious diseases, and the other 40 patients used ice packs as the control group. Inclusion criteria: American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status was less than grade Ⅳ, Kellgren-Lawrence (K-L) grade was higher than three. Exclusion criteria: severe knee valgus deformity, varus deformity, mental illness, addiction medicine, severe underlying disease, contraindicated local cold therapy. None of the patients received the patient controlled analgesia (PCA) pump for analgesia after the surgical procedure. The main indices included the postoperative knee joint resting and activity pain assessed by visual analogue scale (VAS), degree of swelling according to the knee perimeter, and range of motion (ROM). The secondary indices were total morphine consumption, drainage, and complications, such as postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). The statistical methods included repeated measurement data analysis of variance, Student t test, chi square test or Fisher exact probability method analysis, and Mann Whitney U test.

There was no difference in the general data for each treatment group. Compared to the control group, active pain in the experimental group was lower at 36 h (t =4.10, P<0.05), and 48 h (t=9.65, P<0.05) after the operation. The knee circumference at 10 cm above the superior patella (knee swelling) was significantly smaller than the contralateral side at 36 h (t =4.24, P=0.04), and 48 h (t=90.90, P<0.001) after the surgery in the experimental group. The ROM in the experimental group was significantly better than the control group (t=32.70, P<0.001) at 48 h, and the volume of drainage at 48 h in the experimental group were lower than that in the control group (t=9.88, P<0.001). There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in postoperative wound healing, incidences of rash, respiratory depression, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or urinary retention, ect (all P>0.05).

Compared to ice pack, consecutive compression cryotherapy could relieve pain more effectively, reduce swelling above the knee joint, and increase mobility. The cryotherapy can promote the patient′s overall functional rehabilitation after TKA.