Successfully Treating Patients With Osteoarthritis: How Physical Therapy Can Generate the Best Outcomes
An evidence-based treatment approach is well supported in the literature for patients with osteoarthritis (OA). Physical therapists (PT) have clinical practice guidelines that clearly direct the care we provide our patients. There is strong evidence to support supervised exercise by both the American Physical Therapy Association and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. The 2019 American College of Rheumatology/Arthritis Foundation guideline for the management of osteoarthritis of the hand, hip, and knee was updated and once again concluded that exercise interventions were strongly recommended, with better outcomes when the exercise is supervised. Less clear is what type and how much exercise is right for everyone. This is when the skills and contributions of an effective PT can help. A PT, for example, will look at the patient holistically, with an eye toward each patient’s unique history with health and well-being, social and cultural influences, functional objectives, and ba