Try exercise with osteoarthritis - NICE

Friday April 29th 2022

Osteoarthritis symptoms can be eased with exercise – and can help to improve quality of life, according to new draft guidelines from NICE, published today.

The draft guideline on the care and management of people with the condition recommends that healthcare professionals should encourage exercise and provide evidence-based information to help support their patients. Clinical evidence shows that good outcomes are achievable with tailored exercises, such as muscle strengthening and aerobic exercise, NICE says.

Losing weight can also help to reduce joint pain – the most affected joints are the knees, hips and small hand joints – and NICE says healthcare professionals should support people with osteoarthritis who are overweight.

The draft guideline also recommends osteoarthritis should be diagnosed clinically without the need for imaging for those over 45, have activity-related joint pain and have either no morning joint-related stiffness or morning stiffness that lasts no longer than 30 minutes

Dr Paul Chrisp, director for the Centre for Guidelines at NICE said: “Osteoarthritis can cause people discomfort and prevent them from undertaking some of their normal daily activities. However, there is evidence which shows muscle strengthening and aerobic exercise can have an impact on not just managing the condition, but also providing people with an improved quality of life.

“Beginning that journey can be uncomfortable for some people at first, and they should be supported and provided with enough information to help them to manage their condition over a long period of time.

“Whilst topical and sometimes oral NSAIDs remain an important treatment option for osteoarthritis, we have taken the decision to not recommend some painkillers, such as paracetamol and some opioids for osteoarthritis.

“This is because new evidence has shown there was little or no benefit to people’s quality of life, pain or psychological distress and particularly in the case of strong opioids, there was evidence that they can cause harm in the longer term, including possible addiction.”

The draft guideline is open for public consultation until 15 June 2022.

Tags: Fitness | NHS | Rheumatology | UK News

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