Biochemical Indicator of Isometric Exercises Effectiveness in Early Rehabilitation of Elderly Patients after Hip Arthroplasty

Improving the effectiveness of early rehabilitation of elderly patients after hip arthroplasty remains an urgent task. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of isometric exercises in early (2 weeks) rehabilitation of elderly patients after hip replacement using blood parameters. The randomized study included 10 elderly patients in the groups of control (n = 5) and experimental (n = 5), supplemented with isometric exercises, rehabilitation techniques performed daily from 1 to 12 days after total cement hip arthroplasty. The effectiveness of rehabilitation was assessed by the indices of muscle traumatization (myoglobin, creatine phosphokinase, aspartate aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase concentration) and systemic inflammation (erythrocyte sedimentation rate, CRP concentrations, and interleukins IL-6, IL-8, and IL-1β) in the blood of patients on the 12th day after surgery. The indices of muscle traumatization, concentration of C-reactive protein and leukocytes in blood, as well as erythrocyte sedimentation rate did not reveal any significant difference between the groups of patients. The difference between the control and experimental groups in terms of restoration of interleukin IL-6, IL-8, and IL-1β concentrations in the blood to the normal range was statistically reliable according to Fisher’s exact criterion (p = 0.042). In general, the obtained results showed that additional isometric exercises provided more effective early rehabilitation of elderly patients after endoprosthesis in comparison with the standard set of exercises, and normalization of the concentration of proinflammatory interleukins, primarily IL-6 and IL-8, can be considered as an objective indicator in assessing the effectiveness of methods of early rehabilitation of elderly patients after hip arthroplasty.