Osteoarthritis
A clinical diagnosis in people over 45 with activity-related pain and brief stiffness. Exercise and weight loss are the treatment; topical NSAIDs before oral; no opioids, no arthroscopy, and look for a secondary cause when the joint pattern is wrong.
Tier 1Condition
Written with AI assistance and fact-checked against the sources below. For exam study, not clinical decisions. How notes are made
At a glance
- The commonest arthritis and a leading cause of disability in older Australians. Knees, hips, hands (DIP, PIP, thumb base), first MTP and the spine carry most of the load.
- A clinical diagnosis: age 45 or over, pain with use, and morning stiffness of 30 minutes or less. Bloods are normal and imaging is often unnecessary.
- Exercise and weight loss are the only interventions with strong recommendations for. Everything else is an adjunct.
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Sources
- Guideline for the management of knee and hip osteoarthritis, 2nd editionAU/NZThe Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, 2018 (RACGP notes it is being updated; checked November 2026)
- Osteoarthritis of the Knee Clinical Care StandardAU/NZAustralian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, 2024 (released August 2024; replaces 2017)
- Therapeutic Guidelines: Rheumatology (osteoarthritis)AU/NZTherapeutic Guidelines Limited (eTG complete), current online version, accessed November 2026
- Moseng T et al. EULAR recommendations for the non-pharmacological core management of hip and knee osteoarthritis: 2023 update. Ann Rheum Dis 2024EULAR, 2023 update (published 2024)
- Bannuru RR et al. OARSI guidelines for the non-surgical management of knee, hip, and polyarticular osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 2019;27:1578-89Osteoarthritis Research Society International, 2019
- Kolasinski SL et al. 2019 American College of Rheumatology/Arthritis Foundation Guideline for the Management of Osteoarthritis of the Hand, Hip, and Knee. Arthritis Rheumatol 2020;72:220-33American College of Rheumatology, 2019
- Osteoarthritis in over 16s: diagnosis and management (NG226)National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2022
- Bliddal H et al. Once-weekly semaglutide in persons with obesity and knee osteoarthritis (STEP 9). N Engl J Med 2024;391:1573-83New England Journal of Medicine, 2024
- Last updated
- 14 November 2026
What changed
- 14 November 2026 Personal emails, About story and Australian-style copy