Physical activity is a key component of a healthy lifestyle. Exercise and physical activity have been shown to help maintain a healthy body weight, reduce stress, increase self-esteem and feelings of wellbeing, control blood pressure, and prevent heart disease and diabetes. Children with haemophilia may feel restricted from competing in sports through parental concern or pain and difficulty in moving, or they may rebel against such restrictions, thus leaving themselves open to serious injury. Several groups have attempted to classify sports activities with regard to the level of risk involved; however, these are not consistent. It is important to match the child's abilities with the sport in which they want to take part, and suggest alternatives if this is not possible. Prevention of injury should not depend solely on use of factor concentrates.

With the availability of clotting factor concentrates, advances in surgical techniques, better implant design, and improvements in postoperative management, total knee arthroplasty has become the treatment of choice for haemophilia patients suffering from end-stage haemophilic knee arthropathy. The success of this surgery is also dependent on close collaborations among the orthopaedic surgeon, the haematologist and the physiotherapist. Although haemophilic patients undergoing this surgery would likely benefit from a targeted rehabilitation programme, its specificities, modalities and limitations have thus far not been extensively studied. Employing the published data of rehabilitation after knee prosthesis in patients with osteoarthritis and haemophilic arthropathy along with clinical experience, the authors present a comprehensive and original review of the role of physiotherapy for patients with haemophilia undergoing knee arthroplasty.

As haemophilic arthropathy and chronic synovitis are still the most important clinical features in people with haemophilia, different kinds of invasive and orthopaedic procedures have become more common during the last decades. The availability of clotting factor has made arthroplasty of one, or even multiple joints possible. This article highlights the role of physiotherapy before and after such procedures. Synovectomies are sometimes advocated in people with haemophilia to stop repetitive cycles of intra-articular bleeds and/or chronic synovitis. The synovectomy itself, however, does not solve the muscle atrophy, loss of range of motion (ROM), instability and poor propriocepsis, often developed during many years. The key is in taking advantage of the subsequent, relatively safe, bleed-free period to address these important issues. Although the preoperative ROM is the most important variable influencing the postoperative ROM after total knee arthroplasty, there are a few key points that should be considered to improve the outcome. Early mobilization, either manual or by means of a continuous passive mobilization machine, can be an optimal solution during the very first postoperative days. Muscle isometric contractions and light open kinetic chain exercises should also be started in order to restore the quadriceps control. Partial weight bearing can be started shortly after, because of quadriceps inhibition and to avoid excessive swelling. The use of continuous clotting factor replacement permits earlier and intensive rehabilitation during the postoperative period. During the rehabilitation of shoulder arthroplasty restoring the function of the rotator cuff is of utmost importance. Often the rotator cuff muscles are inhibited in the presence of pain and loss of ROM. Physiotherapy also assists in improving pain and maintaining ROM and strength. Functional weight-bearing tasks, such as using the upper limbs to sit and stand, are often discouraged during the first 6 weeks postoperatively. This may be influenced by the condition of the joints of the lower limbs. Attention should be given to the total chain of motion, of which the shoulder itself is only a part. We conclude that physiotherapy management is of major importance in any invasive or orthopaedic procedure, regardless of which joints are involved. Both pre- and postoperative physiotherapy, as part of comprehensive care is needed to achieve optimal functional outcome and therefore optimal quality of life for people with haemophilia.

With a strong clinical indication and with careful monitoring, MRI imaging is feasible in patients with recently implanted pacemakers, although experience is limited.