Medicare has found that about half of all knee surgeries created no lasting benefit for the patient.
So what is the medical community missing in the diagnosis & management of knee pain?
There are two main issues here: The first is fear of the word “Arthritis”. Arthritis when used on its own (i.e.: not Rheumatoid Arthritis etc.) just means “joint change as a normal part of aging”. It is something that may need to be managed, but rarely needs to be “fixed”. The second is what you could call “black and white thinking”. Just because there is arthritis present in the joint, does not mean arthritis is the cause of the knee pain. In fact, the latest research has found that arthritis is only the cause about half the time. Can it be pure coincidence that Medicare found the same 50:50 answer? Seems unlikely . So, if you have knee pain, even if you think it is arthritis, then come and see us. What if you are in that half that can be easily treated with osteopathy? Here is a simple test to try at home. If this calf stretch makes your knee feel better, then the cause of your pain is highly unlikely to be arthritis.