Popular surgery does little for arthritis pain.
Gee, I could have predicted that.. but it's nice that there's been a big study to provide support for the idea, and it's commendable that MDs can now withdraw this vain attempt at helping people with knee pain by poking around inside it.
Excerpt:
"Each patient received physical therapy and anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen. Eighty-six patients also received arthroscopic surgery.
The researchers found that all of the study subjects had similar improvements in joint pain, stiffness and function.
However, the patients who had surgery did not experience any additional benefits... doctors say the pain can be managed through exercise, regular physiotherapy and anti-inflammatory drugs."
Here is a link to a review of the article: Arthroscopic Knee Surgery- No Better than Placebo?; A Healthy Lifestyle Prevents Stroke, by Robert A Wascher MD.
2 comments:
I almost had the idea that the surgeon wanted to do arthroscopic surgery before knee replacement so that he could peek around and make sure that the knee was a much of a mess as it seemed in x-rays and from my experiences. Theoretically he might have "cleaned up" some bits of loose cartilege or bony spurs. However, in my case, the arthroscopic surgery caused extensive bleeding inside my knee. I got a lot worse instead of better. So not only does "poking around" not seem to help much, it can occasionally cause serious problems. Here is graphic evidence: http://kentslife.blogspot.com/2007/03/ouch.html
Thanks Kent. Sorry for all the bother you've had with your knee.
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