In September 2026, the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) released a summary of updated clinical recommendations on the management of osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee, hip, and hand. During 2026 Update: ACR Guidelines for the Treatment of Osteoarthritis, a panel of experts will discuss how the guideline update was developed and review the recommendations made. The session will be held on Tuesday, November 10, from 10–11:30 a.m., in Room W415A of the Orange County Convention Center.
OA is the most common form of arthritis worldwide, affecting approximately 33 million Americans. Despite its prevalence, it remains difficult to treat, and there is no cure.
“It takes an ongoing conversation with your patient to determine what the best options are for them. Shared decision-making is relevant in OA because there are a variety of interventions from which to choose at any one time depending on the patient’s presentation, as well as their preferences and values,” said Sharon Kolasinski, MD, FACR, MACR, Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. “OA can affect a single joint or multiple joints, and it can lead to disability and functional impairments at work and in recreation, as well as a decline in quality of life.”
Dr. Kolasinski will kick off the session with an overview of the process by which the new guideline was developed, including who was involved and the considerations of the evidence, and then provide a summary of the guideline overall, highlighting the changes from the 2019 guideline.
PT, ScD
Then Daniel White, PT, ScD, Associate Professor at the University of Delaware, will discuss the physical, psychosocial, and mind-body interventions included in the guideline. Even though exercise has been recommended for OA since the first guideline was written in 1995, clinicians are still hesitant to prescribe excercise and patients are still hesitant to participate in exercise when a diagnosis of OA has been made. The 2026 guideline strongly reinforces that exercise can benefit virtually every patient.
“One of the issues we tried to better address in this guideline is to make more specific recommendations with regard to exercise, and we do that mainly by providing more specific examples of what that exercise could look like,” said Dr. White. “There is a new recommendation that wasn’t in the guidelines before, namely, to recommend walking.”
Tuhina Neogi, MD, PhD, Professor at Boston University School of Medicine and Chief of Rheumatology at Boston Medical Center, will conclude the session by discussing the pharmacological recommendations. Of particular interest to many will be the discussion of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs). Guidelines have long recommended weight loss for its biomechanical impact and effects on inflammation, but research since the last ACR guideline for OA supports using GLP-1 RAs to help people with knee OA lose weight. The 2026 guideline now conditionally recommends GLP-1 RAs, alongside diet and exercise, to help people with knee OA and obesity achieve an optimal weight.
THERE’S STILL TIME TO JOIN US
If you haven’t registered for ACR Convergence 2026, you can still register on-site at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, through November 11. All registered participants receive on-demand access to scientific sessions through September 30, 2027.
