Effectiveness of treatment for knee osteoarthritis assessed in Norway

In July 2019, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) has released a report for the effectiveness of treatment for knee osteoarthritis: the evidence base for shared decision making, which aimed to summarize key findings from systematic reviews about relevant treatment options to ease the symptoms in patients with arthritis in the knee.

NIPH came to the following conclusions:

• NIPH came to the following conclusions:

• Seven relevant systematic reviews regarding the effectiveness of exercise, self-management education program, physical aids such as braces and orthoses, surgery such as osteotomy and arthroplasty and the use of paracetamol were identified
• The summary tables were presented with the following primary outcomes provided:
  • Exercise moderately reduces pain
  • Self-management education program may give little or no difference in pain
  • Physical aids such as braces and orthoses probably offer little or no difference in pain
  • It is uncertain if noncompartmental knee arthroplasty is superior to total knee arthroplasty in pain
  • Paracetamol minimally reduces pain

See the full health technology assessment report in English and Norwegian here.

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