A Rehabilitation for Total Hip Replacement in Korean Medicine: A Report of Three Cases

Abstract

The objective of this study was to propose a rehabilitation protocol for total hip replacement in Korean medicine and to report its effectiveness. Three patients who had undergone total hip replacement were treated using the rehabilitation protocol in Korean medicine. We evaluated the outcome evaluating physical examination findings of the hip joint, numeric rating scale, pain disability index, Harris hip score, and walking state. After the treatment, we observed that hip movement and muscular strength improved. Moreover numeric rating scale, pain disability index, Harris hip score, and walking state of patients improved. A rehabilitation in Korean medicine can be effectively used for total hip replacement patients. The limitation of this study was the insufficient number of cases. Further studies are needed to design a rehabilitation protocol in Korean medicine.