Nursing people with osteoarthritis

Al-Omari, Basem and Hill, Barry (2020) Nursing people with osteoarthritis. British Journal of Nursing, 29 (18). pp. 1060-1063. ISSN 0966-0461

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Abstract

Osteoarthritis (OA) refers to a clinical syndrome of joint pain accompanied by varying degrees of functional limitation and reduced quality of life (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), 2014). The most affected peripheral joints are the knees, hips, and small hand joints. Pain, reduced function, and effects on a person's ability to carry out their day-to-day activities can be important consequences. Pain in itself is also a complex biopsychosocial issue, related in part to a person's expectations and self-efficacy (that is, their belief in their ability to complete tasks and reach goals), and is associated with changes in mood, sleep and coping abilities. There is often a poor link between changes visible on an X-ray and symptoms of osteoarthritis: minimal changes can be associated with a lot of pain, or modest structural changes to joints can occur with minimal accompanying symptoms. Contrary to popular belief, OA is not caused by ageing and does not necessarily deteriorate (NICE, 2014).

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