Table 1.
Participants' characteristics at baseline
| MIp group (n = 13) | Control group (n = 13) | Drop-outs (n = 8) | ANOVA (p) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demographic characteristics | |||||
| Age (years) | 61.69 ± 5.19 | 58.85 ± 5.24 | 63.88 ± 4.73 | 0.096 | |
| Sex (men/women) | 7/6 | 7/6 | 5/3 | ||
| BMI (kg/m2) | 30.54 ± 4.03 | 30.15 ± 1.8 | 29.12 ± 3.56 | 0.615 | |
| Total knee arthroplasty, (right side, n) | 8/13 | 7/13 | 5/8 | ||
| Days of hospital stay | 8.77 ± 1.74 | 8.23 ± 1.83 | 8.50 ± 1.6 | 0.737 | |
| Physical function | |||||
| MViC extension (Nm/kg) | Operated leg | 1.37 ± 0.35 | 1.51 ± 0.38 | 1.49 ± 0.47 | 0.657 |
| Non-operated leg | 1.77 ± 0.32 | 1.63 ± 0.36 | 1.98 ± 0.56 | 0.170 | |
| Voluntary muscle activation (%) | Operated leg | 80.08 ± 13.28 | 80.86 ± 14.13 | 87.08 ± 7.36 | 0.433 |
| Non-operated leg | 85.83 ± 9.48 | 82.44 ± 9.65 | 85.90 ± 6.79 | 0.567 | |
| Knee flexion (degrees) | Operated leg | 87.69 ± 9.66 | 86.23 ± 18.08 | 96.0 ± 18.24 | 0.352 |
| Non-operated leg | 104.23 ± 8.16 | 105.54 ± 13.08 | 105.75 ± 12.51 | 0.940 | |
| Knee extension (degrees) | Operated leg | 4.31 ± 3.25 | 3.08 ± 2.63 | 3.50 ± 2.67 | 0.554 |
| Non-operated leg | 2.54 ± 1.81 | 1.38 ± 1.56 | 3.0 ± 1.77 | 0.089 | |
| VAS score (points) | Operated leg | 53.85 ± 12.1 | 54.62 ± 14.21 | 52.5 ± 18.9 | 0.950 |
| Non-operated leg | 8.46 ± 8.99 | 14.62 ± 13.61 | 9.38 ± 7.76 | 0.321 | |
| Hand grip strength, dominant arm (kg) | 39.77 ± 9.61 | 36.54 ± 11.93 | 43.12 ± 10.41 | 0.398 | |
| TUG (s) | 7.48 ± 1.52 | 7.57 ± 1.55 | 7.78 ± 1.75 | 0.914 | |
| OKS score (points) | 21.92 ± 5.25 | 22.38 ± 6.23 | 26.0 ± 9.04 | 0.365 | |
BMI Body mass index, MIp Motor imagery practice group, CON Control group, n number, TUG Timed Up-and-Go Test, OKS Oxford Knee Score questionnaire; One-Way ANOVA did not reveal any significant difference between groups at baseline, p level of significance