​Management of Chronic Pain and Osteoarthritis Pain

The management of Osteoarthritis (OA) requires tools tailored to the individual. This includes education for the patient and caregiver.

Five Steps for Confident Dialogue with your Doctor. 

1. Learn OA/Pain Basics
   1. Chronic pain is persistent, recurring pain lasting longer than 3 months. Chronic pain can be caused by a variety of conditions, such as OA. 
   2. OA is a joint disease that occurs when cartilage between the joints deteriorates.  It's most common in the knees, hips, lower back, and neck, but can affect any joint in the body. 
   3. The pain, swelling, and stiffness in the joints makes daily activities challenging and greatly impacts quality of life.
   4. Treatments include medications, physical therapy, injections, and other procedures.
2. Discuss a plan that includes multiple healthcare specialties (multidisciplinary team)
   1. Rheumatologist
   2. Rheumatology Nurses
   3. Physiotherapists
   4. Pharmacists
   5. Dietitian
3. Routine doctor visits and adherence
   1. Continue to see your healthcare team on a regular basis.
   2. Follow all doctor and pharmacists instructions.
   3. Exercise as prescribed.
   4. Eat healthy and get regular sleep.
   5. Consider cognitive therapy that can complement treatment plans.
4. Track, document, and self-report
   1. physical function
   2. pain severity
   3. medication effectiveness
   4. mental status
   5. caregiver support
   6. sleep quality
   7. diet
5. Find a specialist
   1. If you are unable to find adequate care, we encourage you to search for a specialist here.

Communication with healthcare professionals is very important. Download this guide to help you through the conversation. Start tracking your symptoms and treatments, and make an appointment with your doctor. Otherwise, you can find a Osteoarthritis Specialist Here. 

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​ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

​There are a number of unmet medical needs due to the chronic nature of osteoarthritis. The growing incidence of osteoarthritis and the aging population requires streamlined access to quality care at all stages of OA. Barriers include delays in receiving appropriate care, the inability to get preventive services, financial burdens, preventable hospitalizations, socioeconomic status, age, disability status, and residential location.

The increasing prevalence of obesity increases the risk of OA by 5% as well. Weight loss can improve pain and delay the progression of joint structural damage.

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Challenges of Current OA Therapies

​The use of a multidisciplinary team of health care professionals is the ideal scenario in OA management. However, teams of rheumatologists, rheumatology nurses, and physiotherapists are not readily available in the Primary Care setting. Since the majority of OA is managed in the Primary Care setting, there is a gap in the skills and confidence to deliver quality care. As a result there is an overuse of X-ray in the diagnosis of OA and inappropriate referrals to orthopedic surgery. There is also a gap in core non-pharmacological treatments and confidence in the safety of exercise and its use as an analgesic.