Osteoarthritis

Patients with knee osteoarthritis demonstrated increased cartilage degradation and tissue turnover after a 3-month exercise-related joint loading training program, according to data published in Arthritis Research & Therapy.

Patients with knees that demonstrate meniscal extrusion are more likely to develop osteoarthritis over the long term, according to data published in Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism.

Patients indicated for hip or knee arthroplasty who have moderate to severe osteoarthritis and have not responded to nonsurgical therapies should proceed to surgery without delay, according to new recommendations.

With the continued absence of reliable disease-modifying treatments for osteoarthritis, health care providers continue to encourage patients to focus on exercise and wellness.

When it comes to patients with osteoarthritis adopting, much less maintaining, an exercise regimen to improve their condition, most rheumatologists have just one thought: “Easier said than done.”

The prevalence of osteoarthritis among younger patients with ACL rupture is “high concerning,” with 30% of the youngest cohort — at a median age of 22 years — having involved knee OA within 5 years of their injury, according to researchers.

Older patients with rheumatic diseases are less to report “vigorous” levels of physical activity, compared with other age groups, which may lead to more lifestyle difficulties, according to data published in The Journal of Rheumatology.

As advancements in musculoskeletal biologic therapies have grown in the past decade, so has clinical use of these therapies despite insufficient evidence for widespread clinical application.

In patients with radiographic knee osteoarthritis and comorbid central sensitization, those with higher baseline fasting blood glucose levels demonstrate worse knee symptoms, according to data published in Arthritis Research & Therapy.

Overall, low- and high-dose exercise therapies were associated with similar improvements among patients with knee osteoarthritis, according to results of a randomized controlled trial published in Annals of Internal Medicine.