Osteoarthritis Treatment

Symptoms

• Joint pain during or after movement
• Stiffness, especially in the morning
• Loss of flexibility
• Grating sensation in the joint
• Bone spurs
• Swelling around the joint

Treatment

• Joint mobilisation to maintain range of motion
• Strengthening exercises for joint support
• Low-impact exercise programs
• Manual therapy for pain relief
• Weight management guidance
• Activity modification advice

Which Joints We See Most

Osteoarthritis behaves differently depending on where it is, and the joints we see most often at the clinic each have their own pattern.

• Knee — pain on stairs, getting out of a chair, or after prolonged sitting
• Hip — groin pain and stiffness that can refer into the thigh or buttock
• Hand and thumb base — grip difficulty with jars, keys and taps
• Spine — morning stiffness that eases with movement through the day
• Big toe — pain at push-off and difficulty with footwear

How We Assess It

Assessment is mostly clinical. We take a history of how the joint behaves across a day, test its range and the strength of the muscles supporting it, and look at how you move through tasks that provoke symptoms — walking, stairs, sit-to-stand.

Imaging is less useful here than people expect. Changes on an X-ray correlate poorly with how much pain someone experiences: plenty of people have marked changes on a scan and few symptoms, and others have significant pain with an unremarkable image. We use imaging when it would change the plan, not as a matter of routine, and we will say so if we think a scan is warranted.

Why Exercise Comes First

Australian and international clinical guidelines put exercise, education and weight management ahead of other options for osteoarthritis, ahead of passive treatment and ahead of surgical referral for most people. That is the backbone of what we do here.

The reason is mechanical. Cartilage loss cannot be reversed, but the load going through a joint is heavily influenced by the muscles around it and by how you move. Building strength in those muscles changes what the joint has to absorb, and better tolerance for load usually means less pain doing the things that currently hurt.

• Progressive strengthening for the muscles supporting the affected joint
• Low-impact aerobic work — walking, cycling, swimming or hydrotherapy
• Range-of-motion work to keep the joint moving through its available range
• Manual therapy and soft tissue work to make exercise more tolerable
• Pacing strategies so activity is spread across the week rather than spiked

Managing a Flare

Osteoarthritis tends to run in flares rather than at a constant level, and a flare does not mean the joint is being damaged or that your program has failed. It usually follows an unaccustomed load — a long day on your feet, a house move, a return to an activity after time away.

The aim during a flare is to reduce load temporarily without stopping altogether, because prolonged rest tends to cost more strength than the flare itself. Scale the program back rather than abandoning it, keep the joint moving within a comfortable range, and build back up over the following days.

When to Speak to Your GP

We work alongside your GP rather than in place of them, and there are things that belong with a medical practitioner. Please see your GP if the joint is hot, red and swollen, if you have fever alongside joint pain, if a joint gives way or locks, if pain wakes you consistently at night, or if you want to discuss pain medication or a surgical opinion.

If your presentation suggests an inflammatory arthritis rather than osteoarthritis — several joints involved, prolonged morning stiffness, symptoms in both hands or feet — we will refer you back for that to be investigated properly.

How We Can Help