Joint Lab

What is Joint Lab?

Although SSC has a reputation for the treatment and rehabilitation of elite athletes, we have been, in fact, looking after patients of all abilities and ages since we opened.

Our world renowned ACL research program has led to much improved outcomes for our patients and we are now extending the same service to those undergoing joint replacement surgery.

We perform around 2000 joint replacements a year making us one of Europe’s largest centres of excellence in Orthopaedics and Sports and Exercise Medicine.

While not everyone has the same goals after joint replacement surgery, many of us want to get back to the same or higher levels of activity than we were able to before the operation, without the pain.

Joint Lab is our pre and post-operative service to help guide you through your rehabilitation to make sure you get the most out of your surgery and to help you manage your health long into the future.”

SSC benefit from, but they can be used to speed up and develop a personalised program for you, targeting not only the return of your strength but also your movement and overall wellness and recovery. This will inform our understanding of how your body is adapting to exercise and prevent against you under or overloading during your rehabilitation.

We are invested in getting you back to your best & beyond

Why is Joint Lab an important part of my care pathway?

We can help you to be in the best possible shape for your operation. It also guides and shapes your rehabilitation for you and your physiotherapist to help maximise your health following your surgery. We will also help you track important health markers to ensure you stay well long into the future.

Pre-operative assessment clinic

Prior to your surgery, we need to make sure that you are as fit and healthy as possible for your anesthetic. This means you are less likely to have your surgery delayed or canceled on the day, as any problems that are discovered are dealt with prior to admission. You will meet nursing and clinical staff who will carry out a clinical examination including any necessary blood or cardiac or respiratory testing to accommodate this.

Joint Lab Tests

FITNESS TRACKING – It is important to us that you are active and able to do the things you wish after your joint replacement. At your pre-operative appointment, you will be given your own Fitbit – this is a wrist worn activity tracking device. We will go through a report of your activity with you at each of your Lab appointments. We will discuss that information with you and cover any areas where you could make improvements to maintain and improve your fitness.

BLOOD TESTS – You will have blood tests taken at each appointment to look at your CRP, an inflammatory marker, and your HOMA-B scores which indicate the glucose insulin ratio, both are important measures of how your body is adapting to the less pain and more activity

BODY COMPOSITION – Our testing will measure the levels of fat and muscle in your body and we will also measure your bodyweight and height to give you your body-mass index (BMI). We can use this information to help show you the benefits of your joint replacement and how we can get more out of it.

STRENGTH – We will test your strength at each appointment. Restoring your strength after your surgery is a really important aspect or your rehabilitation for you get back to all the activities you want to. We will measure both legs and follow your progress from before surgery through to your Joint Lab Three appointment.

MOVEMENT – We will measure how you sit, stand, step up and walk with a complex digital tracking system to reconstruct digitally your movements. We will use this to shape individual rehabilitation goals and also to show you the progress you have made between before and after surgery