Manual therapy for osteoarthritis of the hip or knee - a systematic review.

Summary: Is "hands-on" healing the secret to soothing stiff joints? A recent review combed through medical databases to see if manual therapy—treatments involving skilled hand movements by therapists—actually helps people suffering from osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip or knee.

Researchers looked at four specific trials involving 280 patients. The results were a mixed bag. For those with hip arthritis, there was "silver level" evidence (meaning it’s promising but not definitive) that manual therapy worked better than standard exercise for relieving pain, both immediately and over time. However, for knee sufferers, the science is still fuzzy; the studies were too small and varied to prove whether it works better than a placebo or no treatment at all. While promising for hips, we need more high-quality research before declaring it a cure-all for knees.