Exercise is ‘as good as keyhole surgery’ to combat arthritis

EXERCISE is as effective as keyhole surgery to try to overcome arthritis of the knee, say researchers.

The surgery should not be done on those suffering painful degenerative knee disease because it rarely works, reveals a review of 25 trials and observational studies.

An arthroscopy offers no longlasting relief or improvement in function, according to the findings.

The review by bone surgeons, physiotherapists, clinicians and patients concluded that the treatment did not reap “important benefits”.

Patient Casey Quinlan said: “Knee arthroscopy has been oversold as a cure-all for knee pain.

“My knee was nowhere near what I had been told it would be, function and pain level were only marginally improved.”

Degenerative arthritis is a group of conditions where the main problem is damage to the cartilage which covers the ends of the bones.

About a quarter of over-50s have problems, with weight loss, exercise, anti-inflammatory drugs and surgery the options to combat the pain. Mark Wilkinson, Professor of Orthopaedics at Sheffield University and a spokesman for Arthritis Research UK, said: “Previous studies have shown knee arthroscopy is not recommended for the symptoms of pain and loss of function for people with degenerative knee arthritis.

“People with mechanical symptoms, such as locked knee, are more likely to benefit from this type of surgery. Current guidelines support this.

Strong

“Anyone with pain and loss of function in their knee joints will find benefit from lifestyle modification, exercise, physiotherapy, suitable pain medication or joint replacement when non-surgical treatment becomes no longer effective.”

Publishing their findings in the journal BMJ, the experts said: “We make a strong recommendation against the use of arthroscopy in nearly all patients with degenerative knee disease.”