The role of physiotherapy after total knee arthroplasty in patients with haemophilia.

With the availability of clotting factor concentrates, advances in surgical techniques, better implant design, and improvements in postoperative management, total knee arthroplasty has become the treatment of choice for haemophilia patients suffering from end-stage haemophilic knee arthropathy. The success of this surgery is also dependent on close collaborations among the orthopaedic surgeon, the haematologist and the physiotherapist. Although haemophilic patients undergoing this surgery would likely benefit from a targeted rehabilitation programme, its specificities, modalities and limitations have thus far not been extensively studied. Employing the published data of rehabilitation after knee prosthesis in patients with osteoarthritis and haemophilic arthropathy along with clinical experience, the authors present a comprehensive and original review of the role of physiotherapy for patients with haemophilia undergoing knee arthroplasty.