Herstelbevordering na TKR met behulp van het MTC (2010)

Research Purpose
The main question in this thesis is whether or not the recovery after a Total Knee Replacement can be accelerated using the Medical Taping Concept. To investigate this a pilot study has been carried out on the Medical Spectrum Twente in Enschede in which 20 patients participated.

Methode
The 20 patients were divided into two most equal as possible groups; an intervention group and a control group. For each patient was specifically looked at the progress of pain, the size of the knee and the range of motion of the knee during the hospital stay. In addition, the activities-function score was measured before the operation and compared with the score after the operation, the speed of the recovery was looked at as well. Several measurement methods were used for these measurements. The pain was measured by means of a VAS-score, the size of the knee by means of a measurement scale and with the range of motion the flexion and the extension were measured by means of a goniometer. The activities-function score was measured by means of the WOMAC questionnaire and the speed of recovery was measured by daily monitoring which activity the patient has done.

Results
The results of this research show that there is a significant improvement in the area of the pain, the range of motion and the function, when the patient has gotten the intervention with the tape. There are several results with every size measurement contradicting each other and in the field of the speed of recovery the taping method doesn’t seem to make a significant difference.

Conclusion and recommendations
It’s apparent from the results that by the usage of the tape during the clinical phase the patient benefits from the intervention in the area of pain, range of motion and the activities-function score. In order to get a better answer on the research question it is necessary to do this research on a larger scale, with more specific demands on the operation techniques and the research population.