Osteoarthritis – a multidiciplinary approach

Osteoa rthritis is a heterogeneous group of diseases with typical joint damage by articular cartilage damage, along with degenerative changes in the epiphyses of the bones adjacent to the affected joint and the synovial joint.

Osteoarthritis affects people over 50 years, but the onset is much earlier if an occupational factor is present. Due to the high prevalence, osteoarthritis is the leading cause of presentation to primary care, either in the family or occupational medicine. Osteoarthritis also poses an economic burden to society due to direct costs such as the price paid for a visit to the doctor, the cost of drugs or implanted prostheses, or indirect costs generated by decreased fitness for a job or even disability. The occupational medicine specialist has the leading role in primary and secondary prevention in this sense. The collaboration between the family doctor – rehabilitation and occupational physician has the function of tertiary prevention maintaining the quality of life and socioeconomic life in case of these types of patients.