The Impact of High- Versus Low-Dose Home Rehabilitation for Functional Independence after Hip or Knee Replacement

Surgical pain is predominantly treated with prescription opioids, rather than nonpharmacologic treatments1 like occupational therapy and/or physical therapy (OT/PT).2 Evidence on the effectiveness of nonpharmacologic treatments is limited because national surgical registries lack data on OT/PT.3 This evidence gap has limited the inclusion of OT/PT in postoperative protocols4 and opioid prescribing guidelines5,6 for total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA). We hypothesized that a higher dose of OT/PT would increase the likelihood of overcoming pain and achieving functional independence among Medicare beneficiaries receiving home health following an elective THA or TKA.