What Is Osteoarthritis?
7. Nonpharmacologic Treatment
Treatment goals are improvement of function and alleviation of pain. Ideally, patients should receive a combination of pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatment. Nonpharmacologic interventions are crucial in the treatment of osteoarthritis.
They include patient education, physical therapy, occupational therapy, heat and cold therapy, weight loss, regular exercise routines, and more. A physical therapist and nutritionist can help the patient with developing exercise and dietary routines to help improve function and for weight loss, among other things. Exercise programs such as tai chi have been shown to benefit patients with osteoarthritis. Other nonpharmacological treatments that may help are transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, pulsed electromagnetic field therapy, whole body vibration, glucosamine, and chondroitin.
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