There is no clinically relevant association between preoperatively reported knee pain and function and structural knee joint pathology recorded during surgery. This is the outcome of a study conducted in patients who underwent arthroscopic surgery for meniscal tears.

These results challenge the assumption that: 1) symptoms are related to structural pathology in the knee joint; and that 2) arthroscopic surgery for structural pathology is a means for improving patient-reported outcomes for some patients with knee pain and loss of function.