Did you know that almost 1/3 of those over the age of 50 have a torn meniscus, which is a cartilage disc that helps to cushion the knee. And there are, of course, other types of knee injuries as well – that is a lot of “bad” knees!
Most of us assume that we need to have surgery in order to fix our knees, but recent research is saying that at least for the torn meniscus injuries, those who decided to try physical therapy were just as likely to improve as those that opt for surgery.
I’m pretty excited about this – my knee hasn’t been feeling so well lately.
There are 2 different menisci – lateral (on the outside portion of the knee) and medial (on the inside portion). These two parts of cartilage help to keep the knees structural integrity intact as the knee is compressed by normal activity like walking, or twisting, as we make sudden movements in a different direction or in various sports.
Over time this cartilage often just gets worn down, and is more prone to injury.
There are two different types of surgery that are commonly used for this type of injury – removing all or part of it, or repairing it. There are about 500,000 torn meniscus surgeries done every year in the United States alone.
In the study that was reviewed on Fox News, they compared people that had this surgery to those who opted for physical therapy.
The physical therapy was 9 actual sessions with the therapist along with exercises to do at home.
The results were very similar after 6 months. That tells me that the physical therapy option is one that should probably be explored by more people!
[box type=”success” align=”alignleft” ]Not only is it less invasive, but the cost is much less – $1,000-2,000 for a course of physical therapy compared to $5,000 for the average surgery bill.[/box]
Part of the key to the success of the physical therapy was doing the exercises at home.
I can think of lots of things to do with 3 or 4 thousand dollars, can’t you?
For some, it is possible that surgery might still be necessary, but for most it is a good place to start.
