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Review
. 2022 Mar 16;10(3):23259671221079285.
doi: 10.1177/23259671221079285. eCollection 2022 Mar.

Return to Sport After Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Ganan T Radhakrishnan  1   2 , Ahmed Magan  1   2 , Babar Kayani  1   2 , Ajay Asokan  1   2 , Flaminia Ronca  1   2 , Fares S Haddad  2
Affiliations
Review

Return to Sport After Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Ganan T Radhakrishnan et al. Orthop J Sports Med. .

Abstract

Background: Patients undergoing unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) often want to return to sport (RTS) after surgery. However, the time taken to RTS and proportion of patients who RTS after UKA remain unknown.

Purpose: To determine the time to RTS and proportion of patients who RTS after UKA.

Study design: Systematic review; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods: A search was performed using PubMed, Medline, Embase, SPORTDiscus and the Cochrane Library databases for clinical trials reporting on RTS after UKA published between database inception and September 2021. In addition, a manual search was performed of relevant sports medicine and orthopaedic journals, and bibliographies were reviewed for eligible trials. The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines were used to undertake this study.

Results: This meta-analysis included 11 studies (749 patients) that reported on RTS after UKA. The proportion of patients returning to sports increased over time: 6 studies (432 patients) demonstrated an overall pooled proportion of 48.1% (95% CI, 36.3%-60.2%) of patients who returned to sport at 3 months after surgery, while 7 studies (443 patients) demonstrated an overall pooled proportion of 76.5% (95% CI, 63.9%-87.1%) of patients who returned to sport at 6 months after surgery. Overall, 92.7% (95% CI, 85.8%-97.4%) of 749 patients were able to RTS at 4 years after surgery. Overall excellent patient-reported functional outcomes scores and low risk of complications with RTS after UKA were reported.

Conclusion: The authors found that 48.1% of patients were able to RTS at 3 months after surgery and 76.5% were able to RTS at 6 months after UKA. Pooled proportion analysis showed that >90% of patients undergoing UKA were able to RTS at 48 months after surgery. The majority of patients who were able to RTS after UKA did so at a lower level of intensity than their preoperative level. RTS after UKA was associated with good patient-reported functional outcomes scores and a low risk of complications.

Keywords: arthroplasty; arthroplasty and sports; knee arthroplasty; knee surgery; return to sport; sports; unicompartmental knee arthroplasty.

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Conflict of interest statement

One or more of the authors has declared the following potential conflict of interest or source of funding: F.S.H. has received speaking fees from Smith & Nephew and Stryker and consulting fees and royalties from Smith & Nephew, Corin, MatOrtho, and Stryker. AOSSM checks author disclosures against the Open Payments Database (OPD). AOSSM has not conducted an independent investigation on the OPD and disclaims any liability or responsibility relating thereto.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
PRISMA flowchart of the study search strategy. PRISMA, Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses; RTS, return to sport.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Forest plot depicting the overall RTS at the end of the follow-up from all the studies: I 2 = 89.1% (95% CI, 82.9%-92.4%); Q = 92.137812 (df = 10); P < .0001. RTS, return to sports.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Participation in (A) high-impact (soccer, skiing, and jogging) and (B) low-impact (walking, cycling, and swimming) sports before and after UKA. NR, not reported; Postop, postoperative; Preop, preoperative.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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