Knee OA treatment ‘falling short’ of best practice, health commission says

A recent article by the ABC has highlighted findings from the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare’s (ACSQHC) new guidelines into Clinical Care Standards for Knee Osteoarthritis. ACSQHC outlined how current treatment of knee osteoarthritis falls short of best practice.

The key messages from the ACSQHC Guidelines include:

• Knee arthroscopies for arthritis are not helpful and can cause harm
• Investigations, such as; MRI or X-Ray, are not needed for diagnosis of osteoarthritis
• Patients should be supported to lose weight and increase exercise
• Joint replacement surgery should only occur if conservative treatment fails

Considering the new ACSQHC Guidelines suggest weight loss and exercise as first line treatment, head to the Locations section to find out where the GLA:D Australia Program is being offered near you!

Great to see this topic getting so much media exposure!