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 .
Comparison of Home versus Physical Therapy-Supervised Rehabilitation Programs after Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
Background Because of health care funding and policy changes , there is a need to examine the effects of an evolution toward patient-directed ( ie , home-based ) rehabilitation programs on clinical outcomes of patients undergoing anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction . Hypothesis There will be no difference in the effectiveness of a home-based rehabilitation program and a st and ard physical therapy-supervised rehabilitation program in patients 3 months after nonacute anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with bone-patellar tendon-bone grafts . Study Design R and omized controlled clinical trial ; Level of evidence , 1 . Methods There were 145 patients ( 16 - 59 years ) who attended a presurgery education class . Home-based patients attended 4 physical therapy sessions , and physical therapy-supervised patients attended 17 physical therapy sessions over the first 12 weeks after surgery . All patients followed the same st and ardized rehabilitation program . Study outcome measures included active-assisted knee flexion and passive knee extension range of motion , knee range of motion during walking , KT computerized arthrometer results , and isokinetic quadriceps and hamstrings strength . Patient outcomes were dichotomized as either clinical ly acceptable or unacceptable . Rehabilitation programs were compared by the proportion of acceptable patients in each group . Results The home-based group had a significantly higher percentage of patients with acceptable flexion and extension range of motion compared to the st and ard physical therapy group ( flexion , 67 % vs 47 % ; extension , 97 % vs 83 % ) . There were no significant differences between the groups in range of motion during walking , ligament laxity , and strength . Conclusion A structured , minimally supervised rehabilitation program was more effective in achieving acceptable knee range of motion in the first 3 months after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction than a st and ard physical therapy-based program . Clinical Relevance Recreational athletes undergoing nonacute anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction can successfully reach acceptable rehabilitation goals in the first 3 months after surgery with a limited number of purpose ful physical therapy education sessions , allowing recreational athletes more flexibility when integrating the necessary postoperative rehabilitation into their daily activities
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 .