Scoping review protocol of prehabilitation interventions for primary arthroplasty.

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) ranks fifth among all forms of disability worldwide and primary replacement arthroplasty is the treatment of choice in late-stage OA. The current situation in South Africa is that the waiting lists for arthroplasty are extensive with steep costs. According to many studies, physiotherapists can have an impact on this situation by implementing prehabilitation.

Objectives: The aim of our study is to identify the trends in the literature regarding the content of prehabilitation programmes as well as the gaps.

Method: The methodology will involve a literature search and the methodology as proposed by the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines. The literature searches will be conducted in electronic databases and peer-reviewed journal studies will be included based on predetermined inclusion criteria. Two reviewers will screen all citations and full-text articles and the first author will abstract the data.

Results: The results will be organised into themes and sub-themes, summarised, and reported as a narrative synthesis.

Conclusion: The proposed scoping review will map the breadth of knowledge available on the topic of prehabilitation in terms of exercise prescription principles, pre-operative optimisation and gaps.

Clinical implications: This scoping review is the first part of a study that aims to design a prehabilitation programme suitable for the South African public health user as the demographic and physical characteristics of its health users are unique and dependent on the context.