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 Clinic- and Home-Based Rehabilitation Programs After Total Knee Arthroplasty
One hundred sixty patients ( mean age , 68 ± 8 years ) having primary total knee arthroplasty were assigned r and omly to two rehabilitation programs : ( 1 ) clinic-based rehabilitation provided by outpatient physical therapists ; or ( 2 ) home-based rehabilitation monitored by periodic telephone calls from a physical therapist . Both rehabilitation programs emphasized a common home exercise program . Before surgery , and at 12 and 52 weeks after surgery , no statistically significant differences were observed between the clinic- and the home-based groups on any of the following measures : ( 1 ) total score on the Knee Society clinical rating scale ; ( 2 ) total score on the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index ; ( 3 ) total score on the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form ; ( 4 ) pain scale of the Knee Society clinical rating scale ; ( 5 ) pain scale of the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index ; ( 6 ) functional scale of the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index ; ( 7 ) distance walked in 6 minutes ; ( 8) number of stairs ascended and descended in 30 seconds ; and ( 9 ) knee flexion range of motion , on either the per protocol or the intent-to-treat or the analyses . After primary total knee arthroplasty , patients who completed a home exercise program ( home-based rehabilitation ) performed similarly to patients who completed regular outpatient clinic sessions in addition to the home exercises ( clinic-based rehabilitation ) . Additional studies need to determine which patients are likely to benefit most from clinic-based rehabilitation programs
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 .