International Panel Will Detail How Multidisciplinary Strategies for Navigating OA Differ Across the Globe

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most widespread form of rheumatic disease without a cure. But it is not without hope.

“There is no pharmacological treatment that works to halt OA, but we do have nonpharmacologic management strategies that work,” said Rikke Helene Moe, PhD, Research Center for Treatment of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases (REMEDY) at Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Norway, and EULAR Vice President Representing Health Professionals in Rheumatology. “We have also seen that OA affects the whole biopsychosocial aspects of life. We need to think multidisciplinary to help patients deal with this disease.”

Dr. Moe will join two other panelists for the session Navigating the Field of Osteoarthritis: American and European Interprofessional Approaches on Tuesday, Nov. 19, from 8:15–9:15 a.m. ET in Room 146C of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The session will be available on demand within 48 hours for registered ACR Convergence 2024 participants.

Cultural, health system, and economic differences affect the ways OA is managed in different countries, Dr. Moe said, but healthcare professionals worldwide share the same goals: to ease the burden of OA and prevent the disease whenever possible.

“OA has impacts on everyday life as well as morbidity and mortality,” said Aileen Ledingham, PT, MS, PhD, Physical Therapist at Mount Auburn Hospital, and President of the Association of Rheumatology Professionals (ARP). “We want the rheumatology community to advocate for OA as a serious disease and to help debunk the societal misconception that OA is merely a result of normal wear and tear on the joints.”

Anne-Marie Malfait, MD, PhD, the Klaus E. Kuettner Chair of Osteoarthritis Research and Professor of Medicine at Rush University, will explore the latest research into pathomechanisms of OA and the chronic pain associated with it. But until clinical trials produce therapeutics to modify the course of OA, healthcare professionals must rely on supportive care.

The broad impacts of OA call for an interprofessional team that combines clinical medicine, nutrition strategy, glucose control, physical activity, and more.

“A lot has happened in OA in the last 20 years, not so much medically, but in research on what works in interdisciplinary care,” Dr. Moe said.

EULAR and ACR guidelines for the management of OA differ in the details, she added. Care in Europe tends to rely more on topical analgesics for hand OA, whereas U.S. care tends toward systemic analgesia.

Patient expectations differ, too. Patients in some countries accept lifestyle recommendations to manage their OA. Patients in other countries expect medication with recommendations to increase physical activity, control weight, and improve diet.

“It’s cultural and doesn’t have anything to do with some big pharma campaign,” Dr. Moe explained. “Even if it is just vitamins, you have to give them the pills to help them adhere to the lifestyle changes that make the real difference in their disease.

“We like to focus on differences, but most of the time we are moving in the same directions and want the same things for our patients,” Dr. Moe continued. “OA is a challenge globally. It is important that we think together, learn from each other, and learn from the evidence. Together, we can make things happen in OA care and prevention that are very difficult on our own.”