Self‐management of osteoarthritis

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Abstract
Osteoarthritis is the most prevalent activity-limiting condition among older persons. In addition to, or instead of, taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, people use a variety of activities to manage their osteoarthritis. This study describesthe self-management methods reported by 61 participants aged 60 years or older assessed on two occasions 8 months apart. A questionnaire was developed to assess levels of use of 10 self-management methods including low-impact activity, rest, range-of-motion exercises, relaxation, heat (or cold), taking medication, jointprotection, massage, splints, and any other activity. On a typical day, participants usedabout four of these activities to manage Osteoarthritis symptoms, and significantly more on a day that their arthritis was worse than usual. Three self-management scales were formed from groups of activities suggested by factor analysis (medication taking, typical management, and worse-day passive management) that demonstrated adequate internal consistency and stability across the two assessments. The findings are discussed in terms of the importance of developing a brief measure of Osteoarthritis self-management, and the substantial individual variation in subsets of methods used.