In select young and healthy population with few co morbidities  supervised physical therapy  is no more beneficial than a  home exercise program  following relatively simple knee surgical procedures ( arthroscopic meniscetomy ) .
Physical therapy is common following a knee surgery .
With rising healthcare costs there is debate as to the appropriateness of outpatient physical therapy following such interventions .
Many of the existing controlled trials have concluded that there is no benefit to subjects that receive supervised physical therapy when compared to subjects that perform their exercises at home .
The purpose of this systematic review was to consider the existing evidence regarding benefit following  knee surgery  and evaluate the quality , internal and external validity of such evidence .
Cost-effectiveness study of outpatient physiotherapy after medial meniscectomy
In a r and omised controlled trial comparing the outcome of two groups of men aged 16 - 45 one group received outpatient physiotherapy after medial meniscectomy and the other did not .  In clinical aspects of knee function there was no significant difference between the test group and control group measured at specified intervals up to 26 weeks postoperatively . Similarly , there was no significant difference between the groups in the time taken to return to work or in the mean fall in take-home pay as a result of meniscectomy . The mean cost per patient of providing outpatient physiotherapy  in the test group was 23 pounds at 1976 prices . Thus the least costly way of returning male patients aged 16 - 45 to activity is by not providing routine outpatient physiotherapy after medial meniscectomy . Further r and omised controlled trials are , however , required to determine the value of physiotherapy in other age groups and other conditions
In select young and healthy population with few co morbidities  supervised physical therapy  is no more beneficial than a  home exercise program  following relatively simple knee surgical procedures ( arthroscopic meniscetomy ) .
Physical therapy is common following a knee surgery .
With rising healthcare costs there is debate as to the appropriateness of outpatient physical therapy following such interventions .
Many of the existing controlled trials have concluded that there is no benefit to subjects that receive supervised physical therapy when compared to subjects that perform their exercises at home .
The purpose of this systematic review was to consider the existing evidence regarding benefit following  knee surgery  and evaluate the quality , internal and external validity of such evidence .