Osteoarthritis. The role of physical and rehabilitation medicine physicians. The European perspective based on the best evidence. A paper by the UEMS-PRM Section Professional Practice Committee.

One of the objectives of the Professional Practice Committee (PPC) of the Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM) Section of the Union of European Medical Specialists (UEMS) is the development of the field of competence of PRM physicians in Europe. To achieve this objective, UEMS PRM Section PPC has adopted a systematic action plan of preparing a series of papers describing the role of PRM physicians in a number of disabling health conditions, based on the evidence of effectiveness of the PRM interventions. Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disorder and the major cause of musculoskeletal pain and limited mobility in the elderly in the world. Therefore, proper management of persons with OA is of substantial importance. The goal of OA management is to reduce the impact of OA on the individual by reducing pain and improving function, activities and participation. The aim of this paper is to descibe the explicit role of PRM physicians in providing management for persons with OA. The optimal management of OA requires the combination of both non-pharmacological and pharmacological approaches, an issue most of the main guidelines on the evidence-based management of OA share in common. There is good level of evidence about the effectiveness of PRM interventions in the management of OA: high level of evidence about the effect of education, weight reduction and exercise and growing evidence about the effectiveness of physical agent modalities. PRM specialists are involved not only in diagnosis and medical and physical treatments of OA, but, as a rehabilitation strategy, they also deal with the problems of the person focusing on the improvement of all components of human functioning as defined in the ICF including personal and environmental factors with a holistic approach. ICF core sets for OA serve as excellent models for directing proper assessments as well as targeting interventions. PRM specialists well meet the needs of people with OA from the early stages of the disease to the stage of disability that could cause activity limitations and participation restrictions. In conclusion, PRM specialists can make substantial contributions to providing management of OA in order to improve the functioning of individuals with OA from both personal and societal perspective.