Rehabilitation of hip and knee patients in Germany

Disorders of the musculo-skeletal system constitute the most common cause of initiation of physiotherapeutic rehabilitation in Germany. They include back pain, joint replacement surgeries that have become necessary due to arthritis, traumatic injuries including hip fractures, heart diseases and strokes. In Germany, 150,000 patients receive hip prostheses, 120,000 patients receive knee prostheses and 100,000 persons sustain hip fractures every year. This group of patients is treated as out-patients or in-patients for three weeks on average. Rehabilitation aims at rebuilding the damaged muscles, preserving and increasing the volume of movements, ensuring the faultless use of the affected limbs and generally guaranteeing the success of the intervention. The number of hip prostheses is increasing by 7.5% every year – clearly more quickly than the aging of the society would suggest. Elderly patients demand pain-free participation in all activities and hip replacement has become a standard treatment. The progresses achieved in surgical intervention now require innovations in rehabilitation as well: innovations that enable the therapists to care more effectively and better for their patients and to have them back on their feet again quickly and sustainably.