BMJ  2006;333:867-868 (28 October), doi:10.1136/bmj.39013.359282.80

Editorial

Osteoarthritis in primary care

Policies advocating self management need re-evaluating

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Osteoarthritis is the most common cause of disability in elderly people in the developed world, and pain and restricted activity are the most common symptoms.¹ Disabling chronic knee pain alone is thought to affect a quarter of all elderly people in the United Kingdom.² Traditional approaches to treatment such as joint replacement are successful for people who have advanced or severe disease, but they are not useful for most patients, who present with milder symptoms or at earlier stages of disease progression. Targets for preventing osteoarthritis of the hip and knee are similar to those for many chronic diseases—for example, controlling weight, increasing physical activity, improving education and psychological health, and avoiding injury. However, optimal management of symptoms and of restricted activity in people who already have hip and knee pain is a priority for general practitioners, as this can reduce the prevalence of disability among elderly people in . . . [Full text of this article]

Primary Care Musculoskeletal Research Centre, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG

Primary Care Musculoskeletal Research Centre, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG
(e.m.hay@cphc.keele.ac.uk)

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

Related Article

Self management of arthritis in primary care: randomised controlled trial

Marta Buszewicz, Greta Rait, Mark Griffin, Irwin Nazareth, Anita Patel, Angela Atkinson, Julie Barlow, and Andy Haines
BMJ 2006 333: 879. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

• (2006). Self-Management of Osteoarthritis Helps, but Only a Bit. JWatch General 2006: 2-2 [Full text]