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Osteoarthritis is the most common joint disease, affecting聽. It聽聽A$4.3 billion each year. Osteoarthritis commonly聽聽the knees, but can also affect the hips, spine, hands and feet. It impacts the whole joint including bone, cartilage, ligaments and muscles.

Most people with osteoarthritis have persistent pain and find it difficult to perform simple daily tasks, such as walking and climbing stairs.

Knee osteoarthritis is most likely to affect older people, those who are overweight or obese, and those with previous knee injuries. But contrary to popular belief, knee osteoarthritis is聽聽鈥渨ear and tear鈥�.

聽the degree of structural wear and tear visible in the knee joint on an X-ray does not correlate with the level of pain or disability a person experiences. Some people have a low degree of structural wear and tear and very bad symptoms, while others have a high degree of structural wear and tear and minimal symptoms. So X-rays are聽聽to diagnose knee osteoarthritis or guide treatment decisions.

Telling people they have wear and tear can make them worried about their condition and afraid of damaging their joint. It can also encourage them to try invasive and potentially unnecessary treatments such as surgery. We have聽聽in people with osteoarthritis, and other common pain conditions such as聽听补苍诲听听辫补颈苍.

This has led to a global call for a聽聽we think and communicate about osteoarthritis.

Non-surgical treatments work well for most people with osteoarthritis, regardless of their age or the severity of their symptoms. These聽聽education and self-management, exercise and physical activity, weight management and nutrition, and certain pain medicines.

Education is important to dispel misconceptions about knee osteoarthritis. This includes information about what osteoarthritis is, how it is diagnosed, its prognosis, and the most effective ways to self-manage symptoms.

Health professionals who use positive and reassuring language聽聽people鈥檚 knowledge and beliefs about osteoarthritis and its management.

Many people believe that exercise and physical activity will cause further damage to their joint. But it鈥檚 safe and can reduce pain and disability. Exercise has fewer side effects than commonly used pain medicines such as聽聽and can聽聽the need for joint replacement surgery in the future.

Many types of exercise聽聽for knee osteoarthritis, such as strength training, aerobic exercises like walking or cycling, Yoga and Tai chi. So you can do whatever type of exercise best suits you.

Increasing general physical activity is also important, such as taking more steps throughout the day and reducing sedentary time.

Weight management is important for those who are overweight or obese. Weight loss聽, particularly when combined with exercise. Losing as little as 5鈥�10% of your body weight聽.

Pain medicines should not replace treatments such as exercise and weight management but can be used alongside these treatments to help manage pain.聽聽include paracetamol and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Opioids are聽. The risk of harm outweighs any potential benefits.

People with knee osteoarthritis commonly undergo two types of surgery: knee arthroscopy and knee replacement.

Knee arthroscopy is a type of keyhole surgery used to remove or repair damaged pieces of bone or cartilage that are thought to cause pain.

However, high-quality research聽聽arthroscopy is not effective. Arthroscopy should therefore not be used in the management of knee osteoarthritis.

Joint replacement involves replacing the joint surfaces with artificial parts. In 2021鈥�22,聽聽had a knee replacement for their osteoarthritis.

Joint replacement is often seen as being inevitable and 鈥渘ecessary鈥�. But most people can effectively manage their symptoms through exercise, physical activity and weight management.

The new guidelines (known as 鈥渃are standard鈥�) recommend joint replacement surgery only be considered for those with severe symptoms who have already tried non-surgical treatments.

罢丑别听聽links to free evidence-based resources to support people with osteoarthritis. These include:

• education, such as a聽听补苍诲听
• 蝉别濒蹿-诲颈谤别肠迟别诲听听补苍诲听听辫谤辞驳谤补尘蝉
• pain management strategies, such as聽听补苍诲听.

If you have osteoarthritis, you can use the聽聽to inform discussions with your health-care provider, and to make informed decisions about your care.

This article was originally published in聽聽as "Do you have knee pain from osteoarthritis? You might not need surgery. Here鈥檚 what to try聽instead." Written by聽Giovanni E. Ferreira, NHMRC Emerging Leader Research Fellow, Institute of Musculoskeletal Health, University of Sydney.聽Joshua Zadro, NHMRC Emerging Leader Research Fellow, Sydney Musculoskeletal Health, University of Sydney.聽Belinda Lawford,聽Postdoctoral research fellow in physiotherapy, The University of Melbourne and聽Rana Hinman聽Professor in Physiotherapy, The University of Melbourne.聽

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