Digital vs Conventional Rehabilitation After Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Single-Center, Parallel-Group Pilot Study

Study Overview

With the aging population, there has been a substantial increase in the demand for total hip replacement (THR). Rehabilitation is key to improving outcomes, but access to in-clinical physical therapy is not universal. To overcome this, patients need digital interventions that can be delivered at home, under remote clinical supervision. In this study, we compared an 8-week digital care program versus high intensity in-person physical therapy after THR. The results showed greater improvement in the digital group from baseline to end of program, and also from baseline to six months after surgery, in all clinical outcomes.

This was the first time a digital musculoskeletal care company such as Sword Health has demonstrated that a digital program can outperform in-person physical therapy in rehabilitation after hip replacement.