A new study, published in The BMJ, examined exercise therapy to determine if it is superior to arthroscopic partial meniscectomy for patients with degenerative meniscal tears.
The study included 140 adult patients, with a mean age of 49.5 years. All the patients had degenerative medial meniscal tears. One group of patients underwent 12 weeks of supervised exercise therapy, while the other underwent arthroscopic partial meniscectomy.
Here are five insights:
1. Researchers did not find any clinically relevant difference between the two groups with regard to change in knee injury and osteoarthritis outcome score.
2. At three months, muscle strength had improved in the exercise group.
3. No serious adverse events occurred in either group during the two year follow-up.
4. Nineteen percent of exercise therapy group patients underwent surgery during the two year follow-up, with no additional benefit.
5. Middle-aged patients with degenerative meniscal tears can consider supervised exercise therapy as a treatment option, the study concludes.