Surgery vs. Physical Therapy for Meniscal Tears and Osteoarthritis

In many patients, knee osteoarthritis and meniscal tears coexist. Whether a torn meniscus is contributing to knee symptoms in a given patient with osteoarthritis often is unclear, because many meniscal tears are asymptomatic. In this randomized trial, U.S. researchers assessed the effect of arthroscopic partial meniscectomy in 351 patients with both mild-to-moderate osteoarthritis and meniscal tears extending to the meniscal surface. Enrollment criteria included having at least one symptom consistent with torn meniscus (e.g., catching, popping, giving way, pain with pivot) for at least 1 month.

Patients were assigned to either physical therapy (PT) alone or meniscectomy followed by PT; patients in the PT group were permitted to cross over to…