Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2012 Jun:102:147-70.
doi: 10.1093/bmb/lds012. Epub 2012 Apr 26.

Occupational activities and osteoarthritis of the knee

Keith T Palmer  1
Affiliations
Review

Occupational activities and osteoarthritis of the knee

Keith T Palmer. Br Med Bull. 2012 Jun.

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of knee osteoarthritis (OA) is rising and the search for interventions to mitigate risk is intensifying. This review considers the contribution of occupational activities to disease occurrence and the lessons for prevention.

Sources: Systematic search in Embase and Medline covering the period 1996 to November 2011.

Areas of agreement: Reasonably good evidence exists that physical work activities (especially kneeling, squatting, lifting and climbing) can cause and/or aggravate knee OA. These exposures should be reduced where possible. Obese workers with such exposures are at additional risk of knee OA and should therefore particularly be encouraged to lose weight. AREAS OF UNCERTAINTY/RESEARCH NEED: Workplace interventions and policies to prevent knee OA have seldom been evaluated. Moreover, their implementation can be problematic. However, the need for research to optimize the design of work in relation to knee OA is pressing, given population trends towards extended working life.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Peat G, McCarney R, Croft P. Knee pain and osteoarthritis: a review of community burden and current use of primary care. Ann Rheum Dis. 2001;60:91–7. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dixon T, Shaw M, Ebrahim S, Dieppe P. Trends in hip and knee joint replacement: socioeconomic inequalities and projections of need. Ann Rheum Dis. 2004;63:825–830. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mehrotra C, Remington PL, Naimi TS, Washington W, Miller R. Trends in total knee replacement surgeries and implications for public health, 1990–2000. Public Health Rep. 2005;120:278–282. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Felson DT. Osteoarthritis of the knee. New Engl J Med. 2006;354:841–8. - PubMed
    1. Blagojevic M, Jinks C, Jeffery A, Jordan KP. Risk factors for onset of osteoarthritis of the knee in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Osteoarthritis & Cartilage. 2010;18:24–33. - PubMed

Publication types