Advancements in the surgical and alternative treatment of arthritis

Surgical and nonsurgical treatment of arthritis is a rapidly developing and evolving field. It is vital for clinicians to keep up on the latest advances. This review focuses on clinical trials or large prospective studies over the past year that evaluated orthopedic surgical techniques for the treatment of arthritis and new nonsurgical therapies that may prevent the need for surgical intervention. Increasing attention has also been focused on the relation between surgeon or hospital case load and the quality of outcomes after surgery.

No fewer than 10 studies have been published over the past year evaluating the use of hyaluronic acid (a visco-supplement) or corticosteroid injections as alternative treatments to knee arthroscopy for osteoarthritis of the knee. Joint replacement research has explored minimally invasive and computer-guided or robot-guided joint replacement surgery, the best operative choice for advanced shoulder arthritis (hemiarthroplasty compared with total shoulder replacement), the role of patellar resurfacing during total joint replacement, and the use of bisphosphonates for retention of bone density after joint replacement.

The increasing attention on high-quality surgical trials should continue to improve surgical options based on sound research for patients with arthritis. Future research should continue to improve the available high-quality research for treatment choices.