Effects of Balance Exercises Circuit in Patients With Hip or Knee Arthroplasty

Effects of Balance Exercises Circuit in Patients With Total Hip or Knee Arthroplasty (BECA): A Randomized Clinical Trial

This study evaluates the effect of balance circuit in patients with more than one year of postoperative total hip or knee arthroplasty. Patients were randomized between intervention group (IG) (balance exercise circuit ) and control group (CG) (usual routine). The evaluations were conducted by blind examiners.

Balance Exercise Circuit (BEC) program, includes exercise that specifically challenge sensory inputs from mechanoreceptors as well as from the visual and vestibular systems. It is composed of 13 stations, involving static and dynamic balance exercises, including tandem walking, forward-backward stepping, wide-stance gait, functional reach, heel lift, toe press, balance on unstable surfaces, and standing on one leg. The BEC lasts 50 min, two times per week for a total of 12 weeks. Progression of exercises occurred every 3 weeks and was closely supervised to ensure safety. Each BEC session comprised of warm-up and stretching (10 min), exercise circuit (30 min), and cool-down (10 min).

Inclusion Criteria:

• more than one year of postoperative total hip or knee arthroplasty

Exclusion Criteria:

• total hip AND knee arthroplasty
• other surgeries of the lower limbs and spine
• autoimmune disease
• contraindication for physical exercise