Orthopaedic surgery is the third most common reason Australians go under the knife.

Last year, more than 100,000 orthopaedic surgeries were performed in public hospitals. However, as most orthopaedic surgeries are performed in private hospitals, the real number is much higher (and unfortunately unknown).

What’s also less known is that many common orthopaedic surgeries are not better for reducing pain than non-surgical alternatives that are both cheaper and safer, such as exercise programs.

Some surgeries provide the same result as a placebo surgery, which are not actually very powerful, so real surgery that isn’t better than a placebo isn’t recommended.