I was at a continuing education event this past weekend and while I was there they brought up two studies that made my jaw drop. Both of these studies were recent and were both published in the New England Journal of Medicine.  The first study examined the effectiveness of arthroscopic surgery for osteoarthritis of the knee. In the second study they examined the effectiveness of arthroscopic surgery for degenerative medial meniscal tears vs. a sham (fake) surgical intervention.  Would you like to know the outcome of these studies? It might surprise you.

In the first study, the researchers concluded that "Arthroscopic surgery for osteoarthritis of the knee provides no additional benefit to optimized physical and medical therapy."  Did you read that?!  They say that there is no additional benefit to undergoing this form of surgery for OA of the knee!  You can check out this study here.

In the other study I mentioned, the conclusion was that "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." You can read more on this study here.

So what does this mean to you as a patient?  I think the implications are pretty clear. Exhaust all conservative options thoroughly because as with so many other types of surgery, the outcomes are not all that stellar. In these cases, as the old cliche' goes all you are really doing is helping to make a doctor's boat payment.  So, my advice if you are suffering from either of these problems mentioned above, if you are really interested in spending money, make your own boat payment instead of some doctor's. It is your decision when to see a chiropractor, but please take some time to think before considering knee surgery.