Impact of physical therapy on hip joint pain, mobility and subjects' independence level after hip replacement surgery

Problem of the research. Even after hip replacement surgery, patients tend to experience a decreased range of motion of the joint that was operated on as well as decreased muscle strength of the leg, limited mobility, decreased independence level and pain (Juocevicius et al., 2010). Physical therapy, the purpose of which is to treat, restore and compensate for lost motor functions, is best suited for the correction of these symptoms. (Muntianaite et al., 2014). Aim of the research – to evaluate the effect of physical therapy on hip joint pain, mobility and subjects' independence level after hip replacement surgery. Objectives of the research: 1. To evaluate pain of the hip joint before and after physical therapy. 2. To evaluate subjects' mobility before and after physical therapy. 3. To evaluate subjects' independence level before and after physical therapy. 4. To evaluate the changes in pain, mobility of the hip joint, and subjects' independence level by gender and age. 5. To evaluate the impact of physical therapy at the early postoperative period. Research hypothesis: We assume that after physical therapy, the mobility and independence of the subjects will improve, and pain of the hip joint will decrease. Research methods. Assessment of subjects' pain level (VAS), mobility (goniometry, Oxford scale, Keitel index) and independence level (Barthel index) was performed. Subjects were tested twice: immediately after surgery and 7 days after the end of the initial physical therapy program. Research results and conclusions. The study showed that the level of hip joint pain was increased before physical therapy, but decreased significantly after application of physical therapy. Before physical therapy, subjects' mobility was limited, and after physical therapy it increased significantly. The subjects' independence level was slightly limited before physical therapy, and after application of physical therapy it increased significantly. The impact of physical therapy on hip joint pain and subjects' mobility and independence level is linearly dependent on subjects' gender and age. It can be concluded that the application of physical therapy at the early postoperative period significantly reduces hip joint pain and increases patients' mobility and independence level