In a recent news report, physical therapy has been shown to be just as good for knee injuries (torn meniscus) as surgery, at less cost and risk.  Results were published online by the New England Journal of Medicine.

Highlights of the report are:

• The therapy was nine sessions on average plus exercises to do at home, which experts say is key to success.
• The treatment involved two to three hour-long sessions a week, including strengthening exercises, balancing and massage.
• After six months, both groups had similar rates of functional improvement. Pain scores also were similar.
• Therapy “is a reasonable first strategy, with surgery reserved for the minority who don’t have improvement,” Rachelle Buchbinder of Monash University in Melbourne wrote in a commentary in the medical journal.

See your doctor if the pain persists or doesn’t go away within a day or two.
See your therapist if treatment is recommended.