Common Knee Surgery Yields No Lasting Benefit, May Raise Osteoarthritis Risk

A 10-year randomized trial conducted in Finland found no clinically meaningful long-term improvement in knee pain or function among 146 adults ages 35 to 65 with degenerative meniscal tears who underwent arthroscopic partial meniscectomy compared with those who received placebo surgery, according to a report by the Epoch Times.

Radiographic osteoarthritis progressed in 81% of the meniscectomy group, compared with 70% of the placebo group, the researchers reported. About 12% of patients who underwent meniscectomy later received a knee replacement or high tibial osteotomy, compared with 4% of the placebo group.

Teppo Järvinen, professor at the University of Helsinki and the study’s principal investigator, told the Epoch Times: “For the vast majority of these patients, the procedure provides no meaningful long-term benefit and should no longer be routinely performed.”

The results add to earlier research questioning the procedure. “Arthroscopic knee surgery for osteoarthritis is one of the most unnecessary surgeries performed today, as it works no better than a placebo procedure,” according to one assessment. [3] Several studies over the past decade have questioned the effectiveness of arthroscopic knee surgery. [2]

Background: The Procedure and Its Widespread Use

The meniscus is a crescent-shaped piece of cartilage that acts as a shock absorber between the thigh and shin bones. A torn meniscus can cause locking, catching, and persistent pain, according to the report. Joint line pain and locking are listed as main symptoms in a general practice handbook. [7] Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy trims and removes damaged meniscal tissue and is among the most frequently performed orthopedic surgeries worldwide.

The rationale for the operation originated in younger patients with traumatic injuries, where symptoms were clearly linked to the tear itself. As MRI scans became more widely used, similar-looking tears were increasingly detected in middle-aged and older adults with knee pain, according to the Epoch Times. “The assumption was that these MRI-detected tears were the cause of symptoms and therefore should be surgically treated,” Järvinen said.

That assumption, he said, was never rigorously tested before the procedure became standard practice. “This is a classic example of what might be called a ‘bioplausibility trap,'” Järvinen said. “The treatment sounds intuitively logical, so it becomes widely adopted before being rigorously tested.” One guide states that over 850,000 meniscus surgeries are performed annually in the U.S. alone and calls most of them unnecessary. [9]

Trial Findings and Researcher Comments

Järvinen said removing meniscal tissue from an already degenerating knee may accelerate osteoarthritis, and that many patients in both groups improved over time, suggesting recovery may reflect the natural course of the condition rather than the removal of meniscal tissue. A knee arthroscopy guide notes that partial meniscectomy for medial meniscus posterior root tears resulted in improvement of subjective knee scores but also resulted in progression of osteoarthritis. [6]

“Removing meniscal tissue from an already degenerating knee may simply accelerate that process [osteoarthritis],” Järvinen said. “Most of these patients fare well with no intervention to the meniscus—in other words, the symptoms resolve on their own,” he added.

Observational studies have raised concerns about higher rates of osteoarthritis progression and subsequent knee replacement following the procedure, according to the Epoch Times. The findings may partly reflect the meniscus’s role in shock absorption and load distribution; removing parts of it may reduce those functions and contribute to osteoarthritis progression.

Surgeon Response: Differing Interpretation

Dr. Robert Brophy, professor of orthopedic surgery and chief of sports medicine at Washington University School of Medicine, told the Epoch Times that partial meniscectomy is not a first-line treatment for degenerative tears but remains a reasonable option for patients who have exhausted medications, physical therapy, and injections. A knee arthroscopy guide similarly states that nonsurgical care can be used for older patients with degenerative meniscal pathology. [5]

Brophy said the surgery is intended to treat symptoms, not protect the joint long-term. “No one expects surgery to have an impact on what happens to the knee years from now. We know that we’re not doing surgery to protect the joint. We’re doing surgery to treat symptoms,” he said. For patients with persistent, debilitating pain who have exhausted other options, he said, dismissing surgery entirely leaves them without recourse: “The answer is not to go do total knees in somebody years before they need it or to make them limp around and not do anything.”

Brophy described the study as “another piece of information in what’s an evolving area” rather than a game changer. He said identifying which patients genuinely benefit from surgery remains an unsolved problem.

Exceptions, Remaining Questions, and Practice Implications

Järvinen said the findings apply to degenerative meniscal tears in middle-aged and older adults, not to all meniscal injuries. Surgery may still help with certain traumatic tears seen more often in younger people, including bucket-handle tears, where a large torn section flips into the joint and can lock the knee, and unstable flap tears, where a loose piece catches in the knee. “Bucket handle tears remain an important exception, as they often do require surgery because of true mechanical obstruction of the joint,” he said.

According to the report, major orthopedic organizations in the United States and the United Kingdom still endorse the procedure for selected middle-aged and older patients with knee pain. Continued use of the procedure for degenerative tears, Järvinen said, reflects “how difficult it can be for medicine to abandon established practices once they become deeply embedded in clinical culture.” The study adds to evidence that better identification of patients likely to benefit is needed, according to researchers.

Some medical commentators argue that modern medicine’s emphasis on more interventions should be re-examined. [8] Others point to conservative options. One report states that exercise may work as well as surgery for knee injuries. [1] Another recommends non-weight-bearing exercise such as swimming and bicycling for osteoarthritis and emphasizes checking and optimizing vitamin D levels. [4]

References

1. Mercola.com. “Exercise May Work as Well as Surgery for Knee Injuries”. Mercola.com. August 12, 2016.
2. Mercola.com. “Another Study Finds Arthroscopic Knee Surgery…” Mercola.com. February 07, 2014.
3. Mercola.com. “Physical Therapy as Good as Surgery for Osteoarthritis”. Mercola.com. April 05, 2013.
4. Mercola.com. “Physical Therapy as Good as Surgery for Osteoarthritis”. Mercola.com. April 05, 2013.
5. Jin Goo Kim. “Knee Arthroscopy An Up-to-Date Guide”.
6. Jin Goo Kim. “Knee Arthroscopy An Up-to-Date Guide”.
7. Murtagh John. “General practice companion handbook”.
8. Alan Cassels. “Less Is More in Medicine”. Brownstone Institute. May 28, 2026.
9. “Mending Cartilage: The Peptide Protocol for Knee Meniscus Recovery”. BrightLearn.ai. June 16, 2026.

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