Study Suggests Results from Therapy Are Just As Good As Knee Surgery for a Torn ACL

Unfortunately, every young athlete is at risk for tearing their anterior cruciate ligament or ACL.  Most of the time orthopedic surgeons and patients rush to knee surgery to reconstruct the ACL, but the problem is there are no long term research studies proving that surgery is better than therapy.  And even though there is no proof indicating that knee surgery has better outcomes then rehab alone there are approximately 200,000 ACL reconstructions performed and over 3 billion dollars  spent annually on this procedure in the United States.

Recently Swedish Researchers published a study in the New England Journal of Medicine proving that rehab alone is just as good as knee surgery for torn ACLs.  Researchers randomly assigned 121 young active adults with torn ACLs into two separate groups.  The first group ONLY underwent therapy to rehabilitate the knee with the OPTION to have knee surgery in the future.  The second group had therapy first but also had ACL reconstruction surgery.

Surprisingly, after two years the results were about the same in both groups when it came to pain and activities of daily living.  And most importantly 61% of the patients that were in the group that only had therapy did not choose to have knee surgery.

Sadly, since there is a lot of money to be made by surgeons and hospitals performing surgeries, this study will probably not make a difference in the number of ACL reconstruction’s performed annually. However, I hope that individuals with a torn ACL give therapy a chance and talk to their doctors about all non-surgical options available, including cold laser therapy, prior to undergoing ANY type of knee surgery.

Keep in mind, surgery is always an option, but should only be considered once all other options have been exhausted.

If you live in the Dallas, Fort Worth or surrounding areas call our office at 214- 596-1051 to find out if you’re a candidate for Dr. Schnee’s Cold Laser Knee Program at the DFW Spine & Joint Center in Irving, Texas.

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!

Dr. Alexandra K. Schnee, B.S.,D.C.,-Your Cold Laser Doctor for the Non-Surgical Treatment of Knee Pain for the Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas Area-“ Dr. Schnee’s Cold Laser Knee Program Has Been Helping People with Knee Pain and Joint Pain in the Dallas, Fort Worth and surrounding areas since 2001.”

Findings in the New England Journal of Medicine appear here http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/363/4/331

Knee Therapy Just as Good as Knee Surgery for Torn ACL, According to Study | Dallas-Fort Worth

Dr.Schnee,D.C. shares the results of a study that suggest knee therapy is as effective as knee surgery for knee pain from a torn ACL.Dallas-Fort Worth.