Table 1

Treatments a) preferred and b) received by participants ranked in descending order, with c) guideline recommendations.

a) Participant preference (number)
Rank
b) Treatments received (number)1
c) Guideline recommendations

(166) No preference stated
1
Drugs – analgesics or NSAIDs (343)
Non-pharmacological interventions
Education/information/advice on: Exercise; Footwear; Weight control; simple pain control heat/cold/TENS
(102) Physiotherapy/Hydrotherapy
2
Physiotherapy/Hydrotherapy (169)

(52) Not surgery
3
Surgery2 (51)

(27) Not drugs
4
No treatment (39)

(19) Acupuncture
5
Acupuncture (35)
Pharmacological interventions
Simple analgesia – oral paracetamol, Topical agents
(16) Surgery (including arthroplasty)
6
Steroid injections (24)

(11) Drugs – analgesics or NSAIDs
7
Osteopathy (18)

(6) Not acupuncture, osteopathy, physiotherapy
8
Alternative therapies (9)

(5) Osteopathy
9
Homeopathic remedies (4)
Surgery
If unresponsive to all pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions and still having significant impact
(5) Homeopathic remedies
10
Joint aspiration (4)

(2) Steroid injections
11


(2) Alternative treatment
12


(1) TENS
13


(1) Weight loss
14



1Some participants had received more than one form of "other" treatment.

2Includes arthroscopy, lavage, menisectomy, other minor procedures, there were no total knee replacements.

% – percentage

TENS – Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation.

NSAIDs – Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

Mitchell and Hurley BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2008 9:123   doi:10.1186/1471-2474-9-123