Atraumatic knee pain.

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Sports Medicine
• Rheumatology

Background:

• Knee pain is a leading cause of musculoskeletal consultations.
• Degenerative and atraumatic knee conditions are prevalent.
• Current clinical practice for knee pain often deviates from research evidence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent research on atraumatic and degenerative knee conditions.
• To evaluate the alignment of current diagnostic and treatment practices with scientific evidence.
• To highlight the importance of a knowledge-based approach to knee pain management.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of English-language studies on atraumatic and degenerative knee conditions.
• Literature search in Medline, manual searches of reference lists, and Mendeley suggestions.
• Emphasis on studies concerning gonarthrosis, degenerative meniscal tears, and the psychosocial aspects of knee pain.

Main Results:

• Clinical diagnosis is often sufficient for symptomatic gonarthrosis, with standing X-rays as the preferred imaging modality.
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is frequently overused and rarely provides clinically useful information for suspected osteoarthritis or meniscal tears.
• Activity-based treatments yield comparable or superior results to arthroscopic surgery for degenerative knee conditions, making them the preferred first-line option.
• Atraumatic knee pain, especially with minimal clinical or radiological findings, is often linked to psychosocial issues.

Conclusions:

• Many patients with knee pain undergo diagnostic and treatment protocols that are not aligned with current research.
• A significant gap exists between evidence-based recommendations and clinical practice for knee conditions.
• Adopting a more evidence-based approach to knee pain assessment and management is crucial for patient benefit and societal health economics.