Table 3.

SF-36 results: paired comparisons of SF-36 scales – effects of time

Pairwise Comparison (Bonferroni)	Time	Average distance	p
PF (Physical Functioning)	(1) vs. (2)	−8.049	0.002**
	(1) vs. (3) (1) vs. (4)	−14.749 −16.935	<0.001** <0.001**
	(2) vs. (3) (2) vs. (4) (3) vs. (4)	−6.700 −8.886 −2.186	<0.001** <0.001** 0.262
RP (Role Physical)	(1) vs. (2)	−8.873	<0.001**
	(1) vs. (3) (1) vs. (4)	−12.107 −12.746	<0.001** <0.001**
	(2) vs. (3) (2) vs. (4) (3) vs. (4)	−3.234 −3.872 −0.639	0.272 0.068 n.s.
BP (Bodily Pain)	(1) vs. (2) (1) vs. (3) (1) vs. (4) (2) vs. (3) (2) vs. (4) (3) vs. (4)	−7.174 −10.591 −11.618 −3.417 −4.444 −1.027	<0.001** <0.001** <0.001** 0.005* 0.002* n.s.
GH (General Health)	(1) vs. (2) (1) vs. (3) (1) vs. (4) (2) vs. (3) (2) vs. (4) (3) vs. (4)	−4.070 −5.453 −3.994 −1.383 0.076 1.459	0.001** <0.001** 0.002* 0.915 n.s. 0.836
VT (Vitality)	(1) vs. (2) (1) vs. (3) (1) vs. (4) (2) vs. (3) (2) vs. (4) (3) vs. (4)	−3.589 −5.560 −5.630 −1.971 −2.040 −0.070	0.013* <0.001** <0.001** 0.643 0.439 n.s.
SF (Social Functioning)	(1) vs. (2) (1) vs. (3) (1) vs. (4) (2) vs. (3) (2) vs. (4) (3) vs. (4)	−3.602 −5.511 −5.262 −1.908 −1.660 0.248	0.120 0.004* 0.007* n.s. n.s. n.s.
RE (Role Emotional)	(1) vs. (2) (1) vs. (3) (1) vs. (4) (2) vs. (3) (2) vs. (4) (3) vs. (4)	−5.708 −8.608 −9.539 −2.900 −3.832 −0.932	0.054 0.002* <0.001** 0.536 0.012* n.s.
MH (Mental Health)	(1) vs. (2) (1) vs. (3) (1) vs. (4) (2) vs. (3) (2) vs. (4) (3) vs. (4)	−1.980 −4.029 −4.458 −2.049 −2.477 −0.428	0.553 0.017* 0.005* 0.496 0.187 n.s.
PCS (Physical Component Summary Score)	(1) vs. (2) (1) vs. (3) (1) vs. (4) (2) vs. (3) (2) vs. (4) (3) vs. (4)	−8.942 −13.856 −14.875 −4.915 −5.933 −1.018	<0.001** <0.001** <0.001** <0.001** <0.001** n.s.
MCS (Mental Component Summary Score	(1) vs. (2) (1) vs. (3) (1) vs. (4) (2) vs. (3) (2) vs. (4) (3) vs. (4)	−2.665 −4.025 −3.882 −1.360 −1.216 0.144	0.360 0.079 0.065 n.s. n.s. n.s.

(1) = preoperative, (2) = 6 months, (3) = 12 months, (4) = 18 months