Physiatric Approaches to Pain Management in Osteoarthritis: A Review of the Evidence of Effectiveness

Abstract

SUMMARY Osteoarthritis (OA), which is highly prevalent in the general population, is one of the leading causes of pain and physical disability. A large number of nonpharmacological interventions are available for the management of pain in patients with OA. These include education and self-management, weight reduction, various forms of exercises, physical agents/modalities, complementary therapies, manual therapy, unloading strategies such as braces and orthoses, and balneotherapy. The aim of this article is to assess the evidence of effectiveness of nonpharmacological interventions pertaining to physiatry to identify best practices for pain management in OA.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.