Effects of tourniquet use on quadriceps function and pain in total knee arthroplasty

This report has been verified by one or more authors of the original publication.

20 patients scheduled to undergo total knee arthroplasty (TKA) due to osteoarthritis were randomized to either a tourniquet group, which had a tourniquet inflated above the knee during surgery, or a no-tourniquet group, which had the tourniquet placed above the knee during surgery but not inflated. This was done to assess the effect of tourniquet use on recovery following TKA. A visual analog scale for pain, postoperative drainage, knee range of motion, and Oxford knee score were used to assess outcomes, and surface EMG was used to measure quadriceps function. Results indicated that patients on whom the tourniquet was inflated experienced significantly more postoperative pain on postoperative days 2 and 4, and decreased quadriceps function outcome for the first 6 weeks following surgery compared to the no-tourniquet group.