According to Two Year Study Reported in the New England Journal of Medicine Arthroscopic Knee Surgery is Useless if You Suffer With Osteoarthritis Knee Pain
A study entitled A Randomized Trial of Arthroscopic Surgery for Osteoarthritis of the Knee was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. This two year, single-center, randomized, controlled trial of arthroscopic surgery in patients with moderate-to-severe osteoarthritis of the knee was conducted to find out if surgery was effective.
Patients were randomly assigned to surgical lavage and arthroscopic débridement together with optimized physical and medical therapy, or patients were assigned for treatment with physical and medical therapy alone. The outcomes were determined after a 2 year follow up by WOMAC scores (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index), short form-36, and physical component scores.
Of the 92 patients assigned to surgery, 6 did not undergo surgery. Of the 86 patients assigned to control treatment, all received only physical and medical therapy. Patients who received physical therapy and medical therapy alone actually had slightly better outcomes two years after the surgery then those who received arthroscopic knee surgery for osteoarthritis of the knee.
The study concluded that after 2 years analysis of the scores that arthroscopic surgery for osteoarthritis of the knee provided no more benefit than optimized physical and medical therapy.
Once again this study proves what conservative doctors have known all along. Non-invasive treatments are the solution to osteoarthritis knee pain.
This randomized study just followed this group of patients for two years. However, I bet that if researchers continued to check in with those patients who received arthroscopic knee surgery they would discover that those patients were worse off year later than those who opted for conservative care. Why? Because arthroscopic surgery ‘cleans out the knee’, and with patients who have very little cartilage to begin due to osteoarthritis the surgery leaves them with less cartilage, and meniscus. As a result of the surgery the knee becomes more vulnerable to arthritis, and patients have a greater chance of having to receive knee replacements in the future.
I doubt that if you are a patient who has been diagnosed with arthritic knees you would want to take a chance with surgery. Especially if you knew that arthroscopic surgery would increase the chances of you having to receive total knee replacements later in life.
Dr. Schnee’s Cold Laser Knee Program is a conservative, non surgical, safe, effective treatment program that may help you avoid knee surgery. Dr. Schnee’s Cold Laser Knee Program is considered a complete treatment plan that combines cold laser treatments, non-weight bearing exercises, and other modalities that promote rehabilitation of the knee.
If you live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and suffer with arthritis, ‘bone on bone’, meniscus tears, bursitis, tendonitis, Baker’s Cyst, post surgical arthroscopic knee pain, or a combination of the listed conditions call our office at 214- 596-1051 to find out if you’re a candidate for Dr. Schnee’s Cold Laser Knee Program.
Or if you would like more information about Dr. Schnee’s Cold Laser Knee Program fill out the form on the right side of this screen to get your FREE report mailed to you entitled, Amazing Cold Laser Therapy the Missing Link to Knee Pain Relief!
At the DFW Spine & Joint Center we also have programs available that can help most musculoskeletal conditions such as low back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, sciatica, disc and nerve problems, hip, ankle, foot, hand and wrist pain, etc… Dr. Robert Hanson, an associate at the DFW Spine & Joint Center, offers a very successful non-surgical program that treats herniated, bulging, degenerated discs, stenosis, and pinched nerves with Cold Laser/Spinal Decompression Therapy.
Dr. Alexandra K. Schnee, B.S.,D.C.,-Your Cold Laser Professional of the Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas Area-“Helping People with Knee Pain and Joint Pain in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area since 2001.”
Source Information
From the Fowler Kennedy Sport Medicine Clinic (A.K., T.B.B., R.B.L., J.R.G., K.R.W., S.H.G., L.M.D., P.J.F.); the Faculty of Health Sciences (T.B.B.); Robarts Clinical Trials, Robarts Research Institute (C.J.W., B.G.F., A.D.); and the Departments of Surgery (A.K., R.B.L., J.R.G., K.R.W., P.J.F.), Medicine (B.G.F., J.E.P.), and Epidemiology and Biostatistics (B.G.F., A.D.) — all at the University of Western Ontario; and St. Joseph’s Health Care (J.E.P.) — in London, ON, Canada.
Alexandra Kirkley, M.D., Trevor B. Birmingham, Ph.D., Robert B. Litchfield, M.D., J. Robert Giffin, M.D., Kevin R. Willits, M.D., Cindy J. Wong, M.Sc., Brian G. Feagan, M.D., Allan Donner, Ph.D., Sharon H. Griffin, C.S.S., Linda M. D’Ascanio, B.Sc.N., Janet E. Pope, M.D., and Peter J. Fowler, M.D. The New England Journal of Medicine. A Randomized Trial of Arthroscopic Surgery for Osteoarthritis of the Knee. Volume 359:1097-1107. September 11, 2008. Number 11.
