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 .
A prospective outcome study of rehabilitation programs and anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.
We evaluated the outcome of and compared two rehabilitation programs ( clinic-based versus home ) after a mid-third patellar autograft reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament . Thirty-seven patients ( 28 male , 9 female ; average age , 24.1 years ) completed the study . Fifteen of these patients received clinic-based rehabilitation ( three visits per week for 6 weeks prescribed ) , and 22 patients received home-based physical therapy ( number of visits determined by patient response ) . Knee ROM , Lysholm , Visual Analogy Scale , ( VAS ) pain rating , hop test , KT-1000 , and Sickness Impact Profile ( SIP ) were evaluated preoperatively and postoperatively . All patients reported good satisfaction with the function of their knee at average follow-up of 21.6 months ( range , 12 to 48 ) . Patients managed by home rehabilitation averaged 2.85 visits as compared with 14.2 for clinic-centered patient ( P < .05 ) . There were no differences in functional or subjective outcomes in the different postoperative rehabilitation regimens , with both groups reporting high satisfaction and improved quality of life . Cost savings in the home rehabilitation group were significant
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 .