Chronic Osteoarthritis Management Initiative Calls for Better OA Screening, Treatment

Ewa Roos, PT, PhD, physiotherapist, professor and research director at the Institute of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics at the University of Southern Denmark, created Good Life with Osteoarthritis in Denmark (GLA:D).

GLA:D introduced a targeted approach to teaching and training patients with knee and hip OA. During a two-day course, physiotherapists learn how to present information about OA treatment to patients. The patients enrolled in GLA:D take an eight-week course, which includes two weeks of classroom lessons and six weeks of exercise training. Four hundred physiotherapists have taken the training and, in turn, trained 3,500 patients since January 2013.

Data that were collected and analyzed have shown a decrease in pain and an increase in quality of life for the patients who have completed a GLA:D course. One out of three patients stopped taking medication after three months. One out of three increased their activity level. For example, patients were able to cross a 20 meter roadway two seconds faster after the GLA:D course.

Proactive Care

With these results from just a change in exercise, the potential for COAMI’s impact is immense. To quote from COAMI’s Call to Action: “Paying attention to patients’ symptoms (starting with asking about them in various settings), following up both proactively and longitudinally, and applying the principles of integrated, multi-specialty systems of care all would improve outcomes for the millions of people with OA.”

Ann-Marie Lindstrom is an independent writer and editor based in the Tucson, Ariz., area.