What effect does a defined goal have on patient recovery, and what role could wearable technology play in supporting recovery in the future? Jim Newman explains.

Not long ago, a hospital in Plymouth shared that it found that patients with focused recovery goals enjoyed quicker recovery from surgery than those without such goals. The hospital made a point of talking to patients about their recovery goals and found that a holiday, a big event (like a wedding) or a return to sport could all be powerful motivators in helping patients recover more quickly than they otherwise might.

Intuitively, we know this to be true, and not just in terms of knee replacement. Everything tends to be more achievable when there’s a defined goal. I see this frequently. A desire to get back on the ski slopes, golfing fairways or simply being able to walk the dog again appears to be a more powerful motivator than simply wanting to be pain free.

It’s that clear, defined motivating factor that appears to spur patients on through physiotherapy before and after their surgery. That’s not to say that the lack of goal will prevent them from being pain-free post knee surgery. It’s just that the benefits appear to be more pronounced and arrive faster when you combine adequate rehab with a defined goal.

Why is that?

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A psychological nudge

One of the big issues for any physiotherapist is knowing whether their patient has put in the rehab effort that’s required to achieve best outcomes. When a physio works face-to-face with a patient, they can see that the exercises are being done – and that they’re being done correctly.

Of course, most rehab happens out of sight of the physio, so they’ll never know for sure how committed their patient has been to the exercises they prescribe. And they can never know for sure how well the patient is following their guidance.

It’s in this environment that you can see how a patient with a defined goal is perhaps more likely to follow the regimen. It’s a psychological nudge to do a little more and go a little further.

The case for wearable technology

It’s also why there’s been such a surge of interest in wearable (and even implantable) technology. Wearable technology may sync with a physiotherapist’s system or with a patient’s own smartphone (or both). It will collect activity data and tell the device to prompt you to move a little more or less depending on whether you’ve been under or overdoing it. It may also offer advice about technique, and it can alert the physio to get in touch if there’s an issue.

Implantable tech takes things even further, with a tiny Bluetooth-connected accelerometer within the implant that monitors the same sort of data, but without any need to remember to wear the device.

Of all the advances in joint replacement, it’s digital solutions for post-operative monitoring and recovery that are likely to see the greatest strides in the next few years. Implantable, AI-enabled tech could even help us position implants precisely for each individual patient’s anatomy.

The technology isn’t quite so sophisticated yet, but it’s improving fast.

So it may be that, in the not-too-distant-future, knee surgeons and physiotherapists will be able to see exactly how often a patient is doing their rehab exercises and help them do them better.

Even then, however, I’d suggest that nothing is quite so motivationally powerful as a goal to return to doing something you love.

If you’ve got a goal in mind on the other side of your knee surgery, please get in touch, or phone us on 03453 052 579.

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