Kinematics-Based Lower Limb Rehabilitation Monitoring Following Partial Knee Meniscectomy: Case Study

Physiotherapy includes treatment to restore and optimize mobility after surgery, injury, disease, and/or degeneration. Based on assessments throughout the recovery process from visual observations of movement, exercises are prescribed to perform at home between clinic sessions. Although technical advances have facilitated remote communication between therapists and patients, accurate assessment of at-home exercises is challenged by a lack of direct observation. The current study advances remote assessment tools to assess key lower body exercises prescribed in a case study following recovery from arthroscopic partial meniscectomy (APM). Using Vicon motion capture, recovery metrics related to range of motion, strength, and gait function were extracted. Peak knee flexion angle on the operated leg during heel slide increased from 91.61° ± 4.17° to 127.42° ± 2.35° (p<0.05), although significant differences were found compared to the non-operated leg at Day 6 (138.19° ± 5.44°, p<0.05). Repetition times in heel slide and leg raise exercises on the affected leg decreased from Day 2 (2.74s) to Day 6 (1.07s), indicating strength recovery. Step length asymmetry decreased by 61.22% and step width asymmetry decreased by 41.75% from Day 2 to Day 6 post surgery, demonstrating improved gait function. This work presents a sample of automated recovery metrics that can be used for therapists to assess rehabilitation and inform the recovery process. Implications of the study findings on remote assessment using wearables are discussed. This work presents kinematics based quantifiable lower limb rehabilitation metrics to assess recovery objectives (e.g., knee flexion angle to assess knee range of motion) used by clinicians to inform recovery remotely