Surgery probably won’t help you with chronic knee pain. But here are 10 proven ways to get you safely back in the swing of things.
Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee affects over 12 percent of people over 60 years old. It’s a degenerative disease that causes pain, swelling, abnormal bone growth and spurs, and loss of mobility. Cartilage becomes thin and irregular, resulting in joint pain and stiffness.
More and more doctors offer surgery as the solution. Over 700,000 knee arthroscopies (a type of keyhole surgery) are carried out in the US and 150,000 in the UK each year on middle aged and older adults. But a new study finds surgery doesn’t help and may be harmful.
Researchers from Denmark and Sweden reviewed the results of 18 studies on the benefits and harms of arthroscopic surgery for middle aged and older people with persistent knee pain.
Their results were published as part of The BMJ’s “Too Much Medicine“ campaign. The campaign highlights the threat to human health and the waste of resources caused by unnecessary medical care.
