A recent study revealed that home-based workout programs can effectively minimise knee pain caused by cartilage tears and arthritis, even without physiotherapy.
According to a new study published October 29, 2025, in The New England Journal of Medicine, scientists discovered that stretching and strengthening exercises provided similar pain relief whether participants received real or sham physical therapy.
Clinical director of the Orthopedic and Arthritis Center for Outcomes Research lead researcher Dr. Jeffrey Katz, stated, “On average, participants in all groups reported moderately severe pain at the start and much milder pain three, six, and 12 months later.”
For the study, researchers included 900 adults, average age 59, all with arthritis and a torn meniscus. One group followed a 25-minute home exercise four times weekly using pamphlets and videos.
The other group did the same with either real or placebo physiotherapy. People who got physical therapy had only slightly greater enhancement, which researchers stated likely reflected the therapist interaction instead of the therapy itself.
Motivational text messages also made no difference in pain relief. The findings revealed that consistent home workout alone can decrease pain for knee arthritis, providing a simpler and proper alternative to conventional therapy.
