Joint replacement most beneficial for those in severe pain with one affected joint

 People with severe pain who have only one joint replacement will benefit more from knee or hip replacement surgery than those in less pain who have more than one replacement, says research published in Arthritis & Rheumatism.

A Canadian team analysed data from 202 people aged an average of 71 years; 80% were women. Two-thirds of participants had knee replacement surgery on one or both of their knees and one-third had one or both of their hips replaced.

People with worse symptoms and joint function before surgery had a better outcome than those with less severe pain before surgery. And those who had a single joint replaced had a better outcome than having two replacements.