Today's regulatory sweep returned nothing for orthopaedics — no drug approval, no device safety communication. That is expected for this desk, and it points at a structural gap rather than a quiet day: orthopaedic practice is shaped by implant registries, society standards and rehabilitation protocols, none of which appear in drug-regulator feeds.
The most practice-relevant document this period is a dose-response systematic review of isotonic resistance exercise for knee osteoarthritis, covering 20 randomised trials and 791 patients, using restricted cubic spline models to estimate how benefit varies with training volume.
Its contribution is specificity. Everyone advises strengthening for knee osteoarthritis; almost nobody specifies a dose. This estimates greatest pain reduction at around 6,000 repetitions, peak functional improvement at around 2,600 repetitions of moderate intensity, and maximal strength gain at around 1,600. Very light to moderate intensity was best for pain, moderate for function, and moderate to vigorous for strength. Both home and centre-based programmes helped, with centre-based more effective. The certainty of evidence is low to very low, so these are estimates to structure a prescription around rather than precise targets — but a prescription with a number is more useful than advice to do some exercises.
- No orthopaedic drug or device regulatory action in today's sweep
- Peak functional benefit estimated at about 2,600 repetitions, moderate intensity
- Pain benefit greatest at higher volumes; strength gains plateau around 1,600
- Low to very low certainty — a structure for prescribing, not precise targets
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