Editorial Commentary: More Clinical Trials Should Focus on Primary Prevention of Osteoarthritis: Disruptive Thinkers Are Required

With increasing life expectancy and an increased prevalence of osteoarthritis, the total number of individuals with symptomatic degenerative arthritis will most likely increase considerably. The current focus of nonoperative treatment is on weight loss, exercise, muscle strengthening, physical therapy, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, intraarticular injection therapies with corticosteroids, hyaluronic acid, or platelet-rich plasma, and lately, disease-modifying drugs. Obviously, prevention is better than cure, but only 5% of all studies registered on ClinicalTrials.gov in the United States are intending to develop strategies for prevention. The overall majority of included studies (89%) will target symptom resolution, and 6% will investigate disease-modifying drugs.

Automated summary

With increasing life expectancy and a rising prevalence of osteoarthritis, the number of individuals suffering from symptomatic degenerative arthritis is expected to significantly increase. Current nonoperative treatments focus on weight loss, exercise, therapy, and medication, but only a small percentage of studies are dedicated to disease prevention.