Osteoarthritis Treatment Guidelines from Six Professional Societies: Similarities and Differences

Abstract

Despite the high prevalence and burden of osteoarthritis (OA) worldwide, management of OA continues to primarily focus on symptom management due to the lack of approved pharmacologic agents that halt disease progression. Recent recommendations from 6 professional societies support the importance of education, self-management approaches, weight loss, and physical modalities in managing OA. These recent guidelines also highlight the paucity of effective and safe treatment options, with recommendations against ineffective therapies outnumbering those for effective ones. NSAIDs, oral and topical, remain the primary recommended pharmacologic management option for OA.

Keywords: GRADE; Osteoarthritis; Treatment guidelines.

Fig. 1 |. Core and adjunctive treatment options for OA.

A broad range of treatments are recommended by international clinical guidelines for osteoarthritis (OA) management that can be utilized to address different modifiable risk factors. Education and self- management, therapeutic exercise and physical activity, and maintaining a healthy weight are core treatments for OA. Additional adjunctive treatments can be prescribed depending on the needs of the individual, including the ones shown. Core and adjunctive treatments for OA should be tailored to the individual for optimal personalized care. From Bowden JL, Hunter DJ, Deveza LA, Duong V, Dziedzic KS, Allen KD, Chan PK, Eyles JP. Core and adjunctive interventions for osteoarthritis: efficacy and models for implementation. Nat Rev Rheumatol. 2020 Aug;16(8):434-447.