World Osteoarthritis Day 12th October 2025
Don’t Just Blame “Wear and Tear”
If you’ve started making more noise getting out of a chair than the chair itself, you might be one of the many Australians dealing with osteoarthritis. It’s the most common form of arthritis, affecting around one in five Australians over the age of 45.
What’s Actually Going On in There?
Historically, arthritis was simply called “wear and tear.” Unfortunately, that phrase has about as much scientific accuracy as “just walk it off.” We now know osteoarthritis is a complex condition that affects the whole joint — bones, cartilage, ligaments, and muscles.
Age, previous joint injuries, carrying a few extra kilos, and genetics can all contribute to an inflammatory process that leads to joint damage over time. The primary destruction site is the articular cartilage (that smooth layer that lets your joints glide nicely), and as the condition progresses, can eventually graduate to the bone underneath.
It’s Not All About the X-ray
An Xray is usually the first image that people get when getting an arthritis diagnosis. However, as with many conditions and images, it doesn’t always match the symptoms patients feel. It can be common to have a terrible looking Xray, but have little to no pain in that joint, while others have mild changes on film and can barely bend a knee.
How It Feels (and Why It’s Annoying)
Symptoms usually start with morning stiffness, joint pain, or feeling a bit “rusty” when you move. It’s often worse with activity and eases with rest — at least at first. As things progress, arthritis can eventually make day-to-day tasks feel like Olympic events.
The Gold Standard Treatment — Exercise!
Sadly, no pill, or quick fix beats exercise for managing arthritis. Research consistently shows it reduces pain and improves function and it’s something you can start right away. Yet even with this abundance of scientific evidence, people with knee arthritis for example are 3x more likely to be sent to an orthopaedic surgeon than to a physio as their first line of treatment. Structured and supervised exercise programs have shown amazing results, even helping some people delay or even avoid joint replacement surgery altogether.
What Kind of Exercise Works Best?
A mixture of aerobic (walking, cycling, swimming) to keep the joint moving and strength training, to build muscles to help support and offload the joint surfaces. If you’re carrying some extra weight, shedding even a little can make a big difference: every extra kilo adds about 5 kilograms of force through your knees.
How your physio can help
Accurate diagnosis, correct exercise selection and dosage, is critical and that’s where physio’s excel. Similarly, if you do end up needing surgery, the appropriate post op care is vital for a good outcome. Your physio will be able to help you restore range and start building the strength back around the new joint that is required to make the whole process worth it. Patients who do their rehab as outpatients after a total knee replacement have 28% fewer complications than those in an inpatient setting.
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