Blog

With knee pain affecting a large share of the community, our researchers at the Kolling Institute are calling for clinicians and GPs to avoid delays in adopting the most up to date, evidenced-based guidelines.

Investigators from the Kolling’s Osteoarthritis Research Team report that knee pain is particularly disabling, accounting for five per cent of all visits to a GP.

The most common causes of pain are knee osteoarthritis, patellofemoral pain and meniscal tears.

Knee osteoarthritis affects an estimated 654 million people worldwide – a tremendous number of people, while meniscal tears affect approximately 12 per cent of the adult population. Meniscal tears can occur following a twisting injury or as a result of a degenerative condition.

In young people, knee pain is often the result of an acute traumatic injury, such as an ACL injury, meniscal tear or patellofemoral pain, and these conditions typically affect sporting populations under 40.

Following extensive investigations, our researchers have found that the majority of people with these conditions receive low-value and inappropriate care.

Dr Vicky Duong said our latest research, published today, indicates that the first-line treatment for these conditions should focus on conservative management, including exercise, education and self-management.

“Our research demonstrates the importance of initially visiting a GP or physiotherapist to aid diagnosis and management,” she said.

“Imaging is not required to diagnose these conditions, and importantly, surgery is not indicated for most people.

“Surgery is only recommended in specific circumstances, for instance where patients have end-stage osteoarthritis with disabling pain.

“We hope that our work will help inform the clinical community about the optimal, evidence-based care and that those recommendations are adopted as quickly as possible throughout hospitals and the broader community.”

The research involved national and international collaborators including teams from La Trobe University, the University of Medicine, Mandalay and Southern Medical University, China.

The paper has been published in the prestigious JAMA journal. 

With a large number of people relying on supplements to reduce their osteoarthritis pain, our researchers at the Kolling Institute have conducted a much-needed review of the most popular ones.

The condition is impacting an increasing number of people, with many experiencing joint pain and functional impairment due to the disabling disease.

Sadly, there is a lack of effective drugs to treat the condition so many people resort to supplements in the hope of achieving some relief.

Now, researchers at the Kolling Institute have completed a comprehensive review, summarising the best available evidence and detailing the most effective supplements.

Rheumatology fellow Dr Xiaoqian Liu from the Osteoarthritis Research Team said we have developed a traffic light diagram that provides easily obtainable information for clinicians and patients.

“There are three colours in the diagram, representing the various recommendation levels,” she said.

“Green means recommend, orange means probably recommend or probably don’t recommend and red means don’t recommend.

“Following our review, we conditionally recommend a short period of use of curcumin, Boswellia serrata extract and pine bark extract as the current evidence shows they have a large treatment effect in relieving pain and improving function.

“Other supplements however, have only demonstrated a minimal treatment effect in pain relief.”

Researchers say the quality of the current evidence is low and larger studies are needed to confirm the findings, but they hope their review will help those with osteoarthritis make an informed decision.

“There are a tremendous number of supplements on the market, so it’s crucial the community has access to the latest, reliable information around the impact of these supplements.”

Our researchers at the Kolling Institute are set to influence the delivery of osteoarthritis care across Australia following a significant funding announcement.

More than $1.4 million has been awarded to internationally recognised rheumatologist and researcher Professor David Hunter as part of the NHMRC Partnership Project Grants Scheme.

The scheme is designed to help researchers work directly with partners to deliver programs that respond to community needs, improve equity and broaden access to care.

Professor Hunter’s project is one of seven being funded this year at a total cost of $9 million.

It will compare the effectiveness of a telehealth approach with optimal face-to-face treatment for knee osteoarthritis.

Professor Hunter said we are enormously appreciative of both the partners who will be involved in this project, as well as the NHMRC for funding our work.

“It will provide important information for policymakers to determine which groups of people will benefit most from the particular types of therapy,” he said.

“It will also help confirm which model of care is the most effective and cost-effective, and which type of therapy could be efficiently delivered on a large scale.

“It’s expected the methods and resources we develop during the trial will be shared widely, and adopted on a national scale.”

With an increasing number of Australians experiencing osteoarthritis, Professor Hunter said it’s important we are able to inform policy makers and service providers on the best-practice management of this condition.

“Despite the significant burden of the disease, the current delivery of osteoarthritis care is often not consistent or informed by evidence-based guidelines.

“It is often fragmented, inappropriate and of little value.

“Our team is consistently working to lift standards of care and long term health outcomes, so we are thrilled this new funding will help us progress our research in this area.”

The total investment in the seven NHMRC partnership projects will reach more than $24 million after funding from the partners.