Osteoarthritis Management Has Evolved: Here's What You Need to Know

If you’ve been told you have osteoarthritis and that it’s just “wear and tear” — we’ve got good news: that language is outdated, and so is the idea that nothing can be done.

At Eureka Health, we want you to feel empowered — not fearful — about your joints. The latest guidelines from leading global health organisations emphasise that osteoarthritis is manageable, movement is medicine, and your mindset matters.

🦴 What Is Osteoarthritis (Really)?

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis, affecting millions of people worldwide. It’s often described as a “degenerative joint disease,” but modern research shows that’s only part of the story.

• OA involves low-grade inflammation, joint sensitivity, muscle changes, and nervous system adaptation — not just “worn-out cartilage.”

• Pain often doesn’t match imaging — in fact, many people with joint changes seen in X-rays have no pain at all.

• It’s not inevitable with age, and it’s not just about damage.

🧠 As the NOI Group reminds us: pain is an output of the brain, influenced by stress, beliefs, past experiences, and nervous system sensitivity — not just the state of your joint.

📚 What Do the Latest Guidelines Say?

The 2023–2024 international guidelines (including the Osteoarthritis Research Society International [OARSI] and Royal Australian College of General Practitioners [RACGP]) are very clear:
First-line OA treatment should be education, exercise, and weight management if relevant.

🔑 Core Recommendations:

1. Movement Is Medicine

   • Regular, targeted exercise reduces pain and improves function — even when there is joint damage.

   • Strength training, walking, hydrotherapy, and tailored exercise programs. delivered by health professionals are all beneficial.

2. Education & Support Matter

   • Helping you understand your condition reduces fear, improves self-management, and leads to better outcomes.

   • Using positive, non-catastrophic language encourages hope and action, and helps to decrease the perceived “threat” associated with OA which in turn, reduces pain.

3. Manual Therapy & Hands-On Care

   • Professionals like osteopaths, physiotherapists, and remedial massage therapists can help reduce muscle tension and pain and improve mobility — as part of an overall movement-focused plan.

4. Weight & Metabolic Health

   • Weight loss (where appropriate) may reduce load on joints (particularly in the lower limbs), but more importantly, seem to lower inflammatory chemicals in the body that may worsen OA.

5. Surgery Is Not a First Resort

   • Joint replacement can be life-changing for some, but it’s only recommended after conservative care has been fully explored.

   • Knee arthroscopy and injections? These are no longer routinely recommended for OA, according to current evidence but may be useful in particular presentations.

✅ Bottom line: You don’t have to simply wait until your joint is “bad enough” for surgery. There’s a lot we can do to help you, including helping you learn to help yourself, now.

💬 Let’s Talk About Language

Old terms like “bone-on-bone,” “wear and tear,” or “your spine is crumbling” are not only inaccurate, they can also be harmful.

Modern, supportive language focuses on:

• Joints being sensitive, not “damaged”

• Adaptability, not degeneration

• Progress and empowerment, not decline

💡 According to the NOI Group (Neuro Orthopaedic Institute), the way clinicians explain pain can change outcomes. Pain education, combined with movement, can literally rewire the brain and reduce pain intensity.

🧰 How Can We Help at Eureka Health?

We use a team-based, evidence-informed approach to support you in managing osteoarthritis:

🧍‍♂️ Osteopathy & Physiotherapy

• Improve joint mechanics, reduce muscle tension

• Educate and empower you through movement and pain education

• Address breathing, posture, and gait patterns

• Build strength, stability, and mobility

• Tailored programs to meet you where you're at

• Help you return to walking, stairs, work, or hobbies

💆 Massage Therapy

• Relieve muscle tightness and support circulation

• Reduce pain and increase your sense of wellbeing

💪 Exercise Physiology

• Long-term exercise and lifestyle plans

• Cardiovascular fitness and metabolic support

• Safe, progressive strength training

🧠 Bonus: Mind Over Muscle (But Not in the Way You Think)

Your nervous system can become hypersensitive when pain persists. That means pain can flare even without new damage. Through education, reassurance, graded exposure, and stress management, we can help you to retrain your brain to feel safe with movement again.

This is known as pain neuroscience education (PNE) — and it’s proven to reduce pain and improve function in OA [1].

✅ Final Takeaways

• Osteoarthritis is not a one-way road to disability

• You can improve, no matter what your X-ray shows

• Movement, education, and support are key — and you don’t have to do it alone

If you’ve been told “there’s nothing that can be done” — come talk to us. We’re here to help you move better, feel stronger, and regain control over your body and your life. Click here to book an appointment and get started.

🔬 References

1. OARSI (2023). Osteoarthritis Research Society International Guidelines for the Non-Surgical Management of Knee, Hip, and Polyarticular OA.

2. RACGP (2020). Guideline for the Management of Knee and Hip Osteoarthritis.

3. Moseley, G. L., & Butler, D. S. (2017). Explain Pain Supercharged. NOI Group.

4. Slade, S. C., et al. (2022). Language that supports person-centred osteoarthritis care: a scoping review. Osteoarthritis & Cartilage Open.

5. NICE Guidelines (2022). Osteoarthritis in over 16s: diagnosis and management.