Primary prevention

Obesity is strongly linked to the development of knee OA; therefore, obese patients should be encouraged to lose weight.[23][22]

One guideline suggests that by targeting specific patients with post-traumatic knee injury, OA may be prevented by initiating appropriate rehabilitation approaches and interventions at a specified time, recommendations include:[68]

  • Person-centred interventions to promote education, self-management, and exercises that mitigate known modifiable risk factors for re-injury and non-traumatic OA.

  • Education and exercise therapy based rehabilitation for patients with anterior cruciate ligament tear, with optional reconstruction if a patient cannot achieve their acceptable functional level.

  • Monitoring knee pain and other symptoms, adverse events, knee-related quality of life and cognitive behavioural factors (fear, self-efficacy, and confidence), self-reported knee function, quadriceps and hamstring muscle function (strength), functional performance (hop battery), and physical activity/sport participation.

​However, there are no therapeutic interventions or medical treatments that are guaranteed to prevent or delay the development of OA. Doxycycline may delay joint space narrowing, but the modest benefit of treatment, which is of questionable clinical significance, may be outweighed by safety issues.[69][70] Some evidence suggests that long-term use of glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate (≥2 years) may modestly delay radiographic progression of OA of the knee, but these results are controversial.[70][71]

Secondary prevention

Losing weight, even in modest amounts (2 to 5 kg), helps to prevent OA of the knees and helps to reduce the pain in overweight people.[271]

Appropriate exercises and activities help to preserve functional abilities.

Identification of biochemical biomarkers may enable diagnosis of OA at earlier stages, potentially preventing disease progression in some patients.[272][273]

No medical treatments are available to prevent OA.

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