Common Knee Pain May Improve With Therapy

Common Knee Pain May Improve With Therapy



(DrEddyClinic News) -- Supervised physical therapy is better than regular "wait-and-see" care for patients with a certain type of severe knee pain, according to research that suggests it reduces pain and improves function more effectively. 

The findings, which are published in the Oct. 21 online edition of BMJ, examine patellofemoral pain syndrome, a common condition that causes pain in the front of the knee during and after exercise. 

Women are more likely to develop the condition than men, and people usually start having symptoms when they're teenagers, the study authors noted. 

Doctors often advise patients to rest when they experience pain and avoid doing things that trigger pain. This is referred to as a wait-and-see approach. 

In the new study, Dutch researchers sought to confirm previous findings that suggested conflicting results about the link between physical therapy and improvement in function, and only limited evidence that therapy would reduce pain. Read more