NCT06936267

Benefits of Early Proprioceptive Re-education Without Visual Information After Total Knee Arthroplasty

• Status: Not Yet Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 66 (estimated)
• Sponsor: University Hospital, Rouen · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 60 Years – 85 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Osteoarthritis is a common and disabling joint disease, affecting 4.7% of men and 6.6% of women in France. It causes pain and impaired joint mobility, as well as a reduction in proprioception due to damage to intra-articular mechanoreceptors. In the long term, gonarthrosis can lead to limitations in activities of daily living and increase the risk of falls and institutionalisation. Total knee arthroplasty is an effective treatment for reducing pain and improving functional capacity. However, 50% of patients operated on are not satisfied with the results obtained at 6 months, and between 37% and 55% experience no significant improvement in their functional mobility. It is therefore important to better define the modalities of rehabilitation interventions in order to improve their efficiency and the functional benefits for the patient. Proprioception, the visual system and the vestibular system are the three major systems involved in posture and balance. Rehabilitation interventions aimed at improving balance involve these three inputs and their interaction. Studies have shown that proprioceptive rehabilitation can significantly improve balance and gait in patients who have undergone total knee arthroplasty. However, visual feedback may hinder the development of balance skills by limiting the use of other sensorimotor systems.

Detailed description

The aim of this research project is to determine the benefits of visual deprivation and the methods of early proprioceptive exercises, right from the start of rehabilitation, on postural control in patients following total knee arthroplasty. Proprioceptive re-education with the eyes closed will be used from the very first rehabilitation sessions, evaluating its effect on proprioception. Currently, only one study has looked at the influence of the visual system in proprioceptive rehabilitation after total knee arthroplasty, seeking to assess the superiority of exercises with visual feedback compared with exercises without such feedback. The investigator presents an opposite and innovative questioning by proposing to evaluate on a larger scale the influence of visual deprivation rather than visual feedback.

Conditions

• Unilateral Primary Osteoarthritis, Left Knee

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	rehabilitation : eyes closed	proprioceptive exercise with eyes closed
OTHER	rehabilitation : eyes open	proprioceptive exercise with eyes open

Timeline

• Start date: 2026-03-01
• Primary completion: 2027-04-01
• Completion: 2027-04-01
• First posted: 2025-04-20
• Last updated: 2026-02-18

Locations

2 sites across 1 country: France