A new study found a nonsurgical regimen may be effective in some patients in relieving pain and improving function, without some of the complication risks associated with surgery. All of the patients had moderate-to-severe osteoarthritis, according to Reuters.
Here are five takeaways:
1. The results found 85 percent of patients who underwent surgery showed clinically significant improvement after one year.
2. Sixty-seven percent of patients who underwent a combination of supervised exercise, use of insoles, pain medication, education and dietary advice had clinically significant improvement after one year.
3. While surgical patients showed improvement and experienced less pain and disability than the non-surgery group, one percent of surgery patients died within 90 days of their operation.
4. One in five surgical patients has residual pain at least six months after the procedure.
5. In the non-surgical group, there were six instances of serious adverse events out of 50 patients. There were four times as many serious adverse events in the surgical group.
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