Knee pain, like any type of chronic pain, can be excruciating. Medical researchers, physicians, and patients all seek solutions that are both safe and effective. Surgery has frequently been a route chosen for those with osteoarthritis. The results of a study conducted five years ago in Canada suggest that a typical surgery used to combat osteoarthritis pain failed to consistently achieve that end.
Osteoarthritis pain: arthroscopic approach found lacking
The Canadian study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that arthroscopic surgery was not a reasonable way to achieve pain management for those suffering from typical osteoarthritis. It also revealed that the surgery is ineffective at bettering the knee’s operability. This study was major news because osteoarthritis is so common, with almost 30,000,000 active cases in the United States.
Many Americans and Canadians with knee pain have undergone arthroscopic surgery in the past, because it is a minimally invasive procedure. The surgeon uses tools to excise any detached pieces of cartilage and get rid of any rough areas on the knee. Unfortunately, in many cases, the procedure does not achieve the long-lasting results that patients and doctors desire.
Long-range study of osteoarthritis
The study of osteoarthritis pain involved almost 180 people of both sexes, all of them British citizens. The overall treatment period for the study lasted seven years, during which the patients were divided into two groups. One group received just physical therapy and medication; the other was treated with those first two components, plus arthroscopic surgery.
Following the series of treatments, patients filled out self-assessed pain profiles. Their responses were then analyzed using WOMAC, an osteoarthritis symptomatic scoring system. The findings revealed that after two years had passed, scores on the WOMAC scale were virtually identical between the two groups. The study did not find that arthroscopic surgery negatively affected patients. However, it did find that the surgery does not make a significant impact on either pain management or knee functionality.
Does arthroscopic knee surgery make sense?
The NEJM article suggests that arthroscopic surgery is not the best possible approach for moderate osteoarthritis. The study authors did see positive changes in both study groups for a variety of symptoms, but the same degree of recovery was observed in the surgery patients as in the non-surgery patients (suggesting the medication and physical therapy were responsible for improvements).
Thankfully, surgery is not the only way to treat pain. Weston Medical recommends heat, rest, and exercise for short-term relief. We also provide multidisciplinary treatments for long-term alleviation of osteoarthritis pain.
