Common Knee Surgery Not Really Better Than the 'fake' Version

A new research has just suggested that a common knee surgery could possibly not be better than the 'sham' procedure.

The surgery is an arthroscopic procedure called a partial meniscectomy, and doctors perform it to relieve pain and other symptoms associated with a tear in the knee's meniscus.

Study Finds Physical Therapy can be as Good as Knee Surgery When Treating Patients With Arthritis
A clinical study published yesterday found physical therapy is often as effective as knee surgery when treating patients with tears to the meniscus or arthritis.

However, a new study that randomized people to receive either the surgery or a "sham" procedure that simulated it found no difference between pain symptoms or other measures of quality of life between the two groups, CBS News reported.

A team of researchers led by Dr. Teppo Jarvinen, a surgeon at the University of Helsinki in Finland, enrolled 146 patients between the ages of 35 and 65 who had knee pain for at least three months in a trial in which they were randomized to either undergo an arthroscopic partial meniscectomy or a "sham" procedure that mimics an arthroscopy.

The sham group was held in the operating and recovery rooms for the same amount of times as the surgery group.

Return to Sports Stalled by Knee Surgery
Knee reconstruction surgery is of little help since about 40 percent of people do not return to their former level of activity or participation in sports reveals study.

All patients received the same walking aids and instructions for exercises, taking over-the-counter painkillers as required.

The researchers found that there were no significant differences between the real surgery group and the sham group.

NHS Could Save �100,000 a Year by Offering Acupuncture as Alternative to Knee Surgery for Osteoarthritis
A new study involving over 90 patients suffering from knee osteoarthritis has found acupuncture to be an effective low cost alternative to knee surgery.

The study is published in journal in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Source-ANI