Osteoarthritis is a chronic condition that causes breakdown of cartilage in joints, resulting in pain, swelling, and loss of motion. It most commonly affects weight-bearing joints like the hips and knees. Risk factors include age, genetics, excess weight, and joint injuries. Osteoarthritis can profoundly impact one's physical and mental health by limiting mobility and social activities. Treatment focuses on reducing pain and inflammation through medications, exercise, weight loss, and sometimes surgery like joint replacement for severe cases.

1. Occupational Therapy & Osteoarthritis

2. What is osteoarthritis (OA)?
 Osteoarthritis is a chronic and progressive condition that mostly
affects the hands, spine and joints such as hips, knees and ankles.
It is the most common form of arthritis and the predominant
condition leading to knee and hip replacement surgery in Australia.
 Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic condition characterized by the
breakdown of the cartilage that overlies the ends of bones in joints.
This results in the bones rubbing together, causing pain, swelling
and loss of motion
 Osteoarthritis (OA) is a condition that affects the whole joint
including bone, cartilage, ligaments and muscles.
 Although often described as ‘wear and tear’, OA is now thought to
be the result of a joint working extra hard to repair itself.

3. Arthritis
 Umbrella term for a group of musculoskeletal conditions affecting
the bodies joints. (Damage to joint cartilage - this is the protective
cushion on the ends of your bones which allows a joint to move
smoothly
Symptoms include
- Pain areas: in the joints, hands, hip, knee, lower back, or neck
- Pain circumstances: can occur related to weather
- Joints: stiffness, crackles, swelling, or tenderness
- Hand: bump on the finger or bony outgrowth in fingers or toes
- Disability (reduced function and mobility0
- Deformity (bony spurs growing around the edge of a joint)
- Loss of strength in the muscles supporting a joint
- Impairment of peripheral nerves
- Inflammation of the tissue around a joint
- Deterioration of ligaments and tendons
- A grating sensation when a joint is moved

4.  OA has no specific cause, however several factors contribute to the
onset and progression, including:
- Being female
- Genetic factors
- Excess weight
- Joint misalignment
- Joint injury or trauma (such as dislocation or fracture)
- Repetitive joint-loading tasks (for example, kneeling, squatting and
heavy lifting).
- Caused by mechanical stress and inflammatory processes
- Mechanical injury; excess body weight; loss of strength in the
muscles supporting a joint; and impairment of peripheral nerves
- Causes breakdown of cartilage and bone
- Metabolic disease
- Previous joint injury
- Abnormal joint loading and biomechanics

5.  Osteoarthritis (OA) can have a profound impact on every aspect of
a person's life. Ongoing pain, physical limitations and depression
can affect an individual's ability to engage in social, community
and occupational activities.
 People aged 15 and over with OA are less likely to perceive their
health as excellent, very good or good than people without the
condition
 Osteoarthritis can have a profound impact on a person’s physical
health, as joint pain and physical limitations are major symptoms
of osteoarthritis.
 Older people with osteoarthritis can also be more prone to falls
compared to those without osteoarthritis. This increased risk is due
a number of factors caused by osteoarthritis, such as decreased
physical activity, joint instability, medication use and pain

7.  People with osteoarthritis commonly experience anxiety, depression
and other mental health issues.
 Pain, physical limitations, poor treatment outcomes and increased
pharmacotherapy can impact on a person’s mental health and
consequently, their quality of life
 People with OA often have other chronic conditions. Comorbidity is
the term used when two or more health conditions occur at the
same time. According to the ABS National Health Survey 2014–15,
among people with OA:
- 51% reported also having cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared
with 15% of people without OA
- 35% reported also having back problems compared with 14% of
people without OA
- 18% reported also having mental health problems compared with
11% of people without OA.

8.  Most chronic conditions are more common in older age groups.
The average age of people with osteoarthritis is older than the
average age of the general population, so people with osteoarthritis
are more likely to have age-related comorbidities.

9.  Exercise is an important and effective component in both
management and prevention of OA.
 Exercise helps improve symptoms (especially pain and joint
stiffness) and quality of life by increasing range of motion (the
ability to move joints through their full motion), strengthening
muscles around affected joints, assists in weight control and
reduces risk of other chronic diseases (e.g. diabetes and
cardiovascular disease).
 Exercise may also have psychological and social benefits.
 Being overweight increases the risk of developing OA, due to the
increased load on weight bearing joints and increased stress on
cartilage. For people with existing OA and who are overweight,
weight loss can help decrease pain, prevent further joint damage
and increase mobility

10.  Treatment of OA with medication aims to relieve pain, reduce
inflammation and improve functioning and quality of life.
Analgesics, or painkillers, are commonly used to manage the pain
of OA. Analgesics include paracetamol, non-steroidal anti-
inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and opioid analgesics.
 A variety of procedures are performed in hospitals to restore joint
function, help relieve pain and improve quality of life for someone
with osteoarthritis
 In 2015–16, osteoarthritis was the most common reason for
rehabilitation care with arthrosis of knee accounting for 22% and
arthrosis of hip accounting for 9% of all rehabilitation
hospitalizations.
 The primary purpose of rehabilitation care is to improve
functioning of a patient with an impairment, activity limitation, or
participation restriction due to a health condition.

11.  Osteoarthritis is also the most common condition leading to hip and
knee replacement surgery in Australia.
 Clinical guidelines in Australia recommend joint replacement
surgery as a cost effective intervention for people with severe
osteoarthritis who are unresponsive to medication and exercise.
These procedures restore joint function, help relieve pain and
improve quality of life of the affected person.