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Finnish researchers found that partial removal of the meniscus in osteoarthritis often does not bring long-term improvement, while conservative alternatives in many cases give better results<\/p>\n
The operation that is often used in osteoarthritis of the knee, arthroscopic partial removal of the meniscus, may not bring patients the expected benefit. According to a new study, this intervention may even worsen the long-term health of the knee.<\/p>\n
What did researchers from Finland conclude?<\/p>\n
Researchers from Finland published the results of the study in The New England Journal of Medicine, noting that patients who had the damaged part of the meniscus removed over the next ten years had poorer results compared to people who had undergone the so-called “sham” surgery, without removal. cartilage.<\/p>\n
Participants in the control group had less knee pain, better mobility, and slower progression of osteoarthritis compared to people who had a meniscectomy.<\/p>\n
The meniscus is a tough, elastic, C-shaped cartilage found in the knee that serves as a shock absorber between the thigh bone and the cartilage. A meniscus tear can occur as a result of a sudden twist of the knee, but the damage more often develops over the years.<\/p>\n
In older people, meniscus damage often occurs along with osteoarthritis. Most people with knee arthritis also have changes in the meniscus, while many of those who have a damaged meniscus also suffer from osteoarthritis.<\/p>\n
Is the meniscus really the main cause of pain?<\/p>\n
For years it has been believed that damage to the meniscus is the main source of knee pain. However, today’s experts estimate that the situation is not so simple.<\/p>\n
Orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist, Dr. Klint Sope from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, has stated that previously doctors often did not distinguish the pain caused by arthritis from that related to the meniscus.<\/p>\n
The leader of the study, Dr. Teppo J\u00e4rvinen from the University of Helsinki has emphasized that more and more evidence shows that medicine, perhaps for years, has not addressed the real cause of the problem.<\/p>\n
According to him, meniscus damage is often seen on imaging, but does not seem to be the sole or main cause of pain. He adds that changes in the meniscus are very common in middle-aged and elderly people, even in those who have no symptoms. For this reason, it is unlikely that only the meniscus is responsible for the discomfort.<\/p>\n
Experts believe that the complex processes of chronic inflammation in the body also play an important role. Today it is known that various inflammatory mediators, such as cytokines, interleukins and TNF-alpha protein, can affect the occurrence and maintenance of pain in osteoarthritis, Telegrafi reports.<\/p>\n
What are the alternatives to meniscus surgery?<\/p>\n
Doctors emphasize that surgery is not always the first solution, nor the best. In many cases, the knee should be given time to recover and treatment should focus on conservative methods.<\/p>\n
This means the use of anti-inflammatory drugs, physical therapy, rest, knee cooling and adapted physical activity. Cycling is often recommended because it unloads the joint while maintaining mobility.<\/p>\n
Injectable therapies, such as corticosteroids, hyaluronic acid, or PRP therapy, which uses platelet-rich blood plasma, may also help in some patients.<\/p>\n
Dr. Sope says he still performs meniscectomies, but only in very specific cases, when the meniscus has moved out of position and is causing additional problems, and when other treatment methods have failed. In advanced osteoarthritis, total knee replacement may be a more rational solution than removing the meniscus.<\/p>\n
Experts emphasize that surgical treatment continues to have an important role in acute traumatic knee injuries, especially when it is necessary to preserve or reconstruct the meniscus.<\/p>\n
However, in most common degenerative injuries and chronic pain, long-term results show that alternative approaches often provide better results. than the operation.<\/p>\n
Why did the “sham” operation also bring improvement?<\/p>\n
It is interesting that the participants of the control group, during the procedure, nevertheless underwent diagnostic arthroscopy. During this operation, physiological solution is injected into the knee, so that the joint is flushed and the camera has a clearer picture.<\/p>\n
According to Dr. Sope, precisely this flushing of the joint may have affected the reduction of pain, because it may have removed part of the inflammatory substances that participate in the appearance of symptoms.<\/p>\n
For this reason, some experts estimate that the “fake” operation may not have been completely ineffective, but the procedure itself may have brought some relief to the patients.<\/p>\n
Source: prizrenpost<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Finnish researchers found that partial removal of the meniscus in osteoarthritis often does not bring long-term improvement, while conservative alternatives in many cases give better results The operation that is often used in osteoarthritis of the knee, arthroscopic partial removal of the meniscus, may not bring patients the expected benefit. According to a new study, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"views":9,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prizrenpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prizrenpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prizrenpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prizrenpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prizrenpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39859"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/prizrenpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39859\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39861,"href":"https:\/\/prizrenpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39859\/revisions\/39861"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prizrenpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prizrenpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prizrenpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prizrenpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}