Knee pain interventions show no net gain

doi:10.1136/sbmj.39037.693588.3A

BMJ 2006;333:1122 (25 November), doi:10.1136/sbmj.39037.693588.3A

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Knee pain interventions show no net gain

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The conclusions of the study by Hay et al¹ canbe paraphrased as, firstly, physiotherapy plus medication adviceprovides perceived benefit in patients with knee pain for upto three months and then there is no benefit. Secondly, inappropriateprescriptions of anti-inflammatory drugs can be reduced if theprescriber adheres to good practice. Thirdly, some people whoare enrolled in a study and told they will be followed up for12 months consult their general practitioners less often inthe first six months than a control group.

It follows from the above that after three months,patients with knee pain receiving this treatment package areno better in terms of pain levels or functional measures thanpatients untreated—so why provide this treatment? If generalpractitioners can be encouraged to prescribe appropriately,the role of the pharmacist in this context is redundant. Aftersix to 12 months, patients either retain or . . . [Full text of this article]

James M Noon, clinical health psychologist

¹ Treliske Hospital, Truro TR1 3LJ mitch.noon@rcht.cornwall.nhs.uk

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Effectiveness of community physiotherapy and enhanced pharmacy review for knee pain in people aged over 55 presenting to primary care: pragmatic randomised trial: Elaine M Hay, Nadine E Foster, Elaine Thomas, George Peat, Mike Phelan, Hannah E Yates, Alison Blenkinsopp, and Julius Sim
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