An article on MSNBC.com details how two studies, which were published in Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine, question the value of arthroscopic knee surgery.
One of the studies found that surgery is no better than medication and physical therapy for relieving the pain and stiffness of moderate or severe arthritis. The other study showed that that tears in knee cartilage, which often prompt such surgeries, are very common without causing symptoms.
These new studies and other research shows arthroscopic knee surgery may still be helpful, such as after a recent injury, but it shouldn’t be done routinely for osteoarthritis.