Recovery Plateaus and Ceiling Effects of Commonly Used Patient-Reported Outcome Measures Following Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty

Current knee-specific PROMs plateau by two years following TKA. However, ceiling effects and increases in maximum score achievement up to three years suggest that further improvements are masked by instrument limitations. Routine collection of current PROMs beyond two years provides limited value, but extended follow-up remains important for research. Future PROM development should prioritize improved postoperative score distributions and assessment of high-level function.