‘scope your knee? No Thanks…

The original paper only applies to meniscal damage, not arthritis (osteoarthritis or degenerative joint disease). The Mercola article has two statements that are confusing.

"The study excluded people with knee arthritis, because they tend not to benefit as much from meniscus surgery and the researchers wanted to ascertain if the surgery helps under "ideal circumstances."

"Any surgeon who tells you this is the best or only option for your osteoarthritic knee pain will not have a leg to stand on when you show him or her all of the evidence to the contrary."

"YMMV"

+1

http://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/mercola.html

Thanks for the quackwatch link. I have to admit that when cruising his site the alarms were going off.

However, what was summarized about the knee surgery was taken from the New England Journal of Medicine, and concluded –

“In this trial involving patients without knee osteoarthritis but with symptoms of a degenerative medial meniscus tear, the outcomes after arthroscopic partial meniscectomy were no better than those after a sham surgical procedure.”

The Finnish Study

These studies are finally publishing the fact that many orthopedic surgeons and PTs have long suspected.

One of the problems comes from the fact that the meniscal tear may or may not be the cause of your problems. Same with osteoarthritis, etc.

I cannot tell you how many patients I've treated post meniscectomy who, in the course of their recovery, claim their knee pain is exactly the same at it was prior to surgery.

Just because you have a meniscal tear DOES NOT MEAN IT HURTS. Same with bone-on-bone, or arthritis, etc. Just because there is structural damage does not at all mean it hurts.

Here's my favorite analogy:

At some point my car was sideswiped, and I have a massive dent in the passenger's side door. I'm pretty sure it happened in a parking lot, but I rarely see the passenger side so I'm not really sure when it happened.

But my car is having trouble starting. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't, not sure what's wrong with it. So I take a photo of my car sitting in the driveway, and you can see the dent in the door.

I take this photo to my repairman who says – well, you have a dent in your passenger side door! Obviously this is why your car doesn't start! Let's put on a new door and you'll be all set!

Your knee hurts, you get an MRI, and you have a meniscal tear. So? Apparently many of us do. Just like the car, the physical damage doesn't always relate to why you are having problems with your knee.