A major, comprehensive report on treatments for knee arthritis

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updated Dec 22, 2023

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Four pages on PainSci cite American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2013: 1. The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome 2. Does Acupuncture Work for Pain? 3. Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing 4. Knee Debridement is a Completely Ineffective Procedure

PainSci commentary on American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2013: ?This page is one of thousands in the PainScience.com bibliography. It is not a general article: it is focused on a single scientific paper, and it may provide only just enough context for the summary to make sense. Links to other papers and more general information are provided wherever possible.

A major, comprehensive report on treatments for knee arthritis. Exercise, weight loss, and regular painkillers are praised as effective. Particularly ineffective treatments include acupuncture, glucosamine, chondroitin, “lube jobs” (injection of joint lubricant), and surgical lavage and debridement. Homeopathy is left out (presumably considered beneath contempt). The report is notable for its integrity: written by an association of surgeons, it nevertheless denounces a profitable, common surgical treatment for osteoarthritis (athroscopic lavage and debridement, basically polishing joint surfaces). They tipped over their own cash cow! Dr. Harriet Hall:

Critics who claim doctors are just out to make money, take note: if they were the evil money-grubbers some make them out to be, wouldn’t these surgeons want to promote income-generating arthroscopic lavage and debridement? Wouldn’t they want to suppress information about conservative treatments and keep patients in pain until they were desperate enough to consent to expensive joint replacement surgery? Gee, do you suppose maybe they really are just trying to do what’s best for their patients?

~ Paul Ingraham

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