Physician Summary- Non Surgical Management of Knee Osteoarthritis

The two factors that most influence how osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee is managed are the presence of other health conditions and involvement of other joint sites.  As such, for the first time, OARSI has developed guidelines for the non-surgical treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee that are stratified to each of four patient groups:  patients with knee-only OA and no comorbidities, patients with knee-only OA with comorbidities, patients with multi-joint OA and no comorbidities, and patients with multi-joint OA with comorbidities.  Comorbities included diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, renal failure, GI bleeding, depression, or a physical impairment limiting activity, including obesity.