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 .
Effectiveness of physiotherapy after meniscectomy
Abstract To evaluate the effect of physiotherapy after partial arthroscopic meniscectomy , we performed a prospect i ve , r and omised and partially blinded study . This pilot study was performed from October 1996 to June 1997 . The control group received the st and ard treatment , consisting of verbal and written advice and exercises . The physiotherapy group performed exercises according to a dynamic protocol under the supervision of a physiotherapist . During a 3-week period , nine treatment sessions were given of 30 min each . Twenty patients , who had undergone arthroscopic meniscectomy without any other pathology of the knee , were r and omised into two groups of ten patients each . The effects of therapy were evaluated by a blinded observer . We measured the distance and height of one-leg jumps ( hops ) , the VAS pain scale , the Tegner and Lysholm scores and the SARS/FORS score . Recovery and satisfaction with the treatment were also evaluated . The effect measurements were performed at 7 ( T1 ) , 14 ( T2 ) , 21 ( T3 ) and 28 days ( T4 ) following surgery . Statistical analysis was performed with the Student ’s t-test . The physiotherapy group showed significantly better results than the control group regarding the SARS score , the hop test and the distance jumps . Moreover , the measurements showed clear progression in favour of the physiotherapy group . In conclusion , exercising under the supervision of a physiotherapist led to high patient satisfaction and good functional rehabilitation after partial arthroscopic meniscectomy
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 .