A chronic condition affecting about 2.2 million people, osteoarthritis is a huge health issue in Australia.
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Many sufferers end up having knee or hip replacements to relieve the chronic pain and regain mobility.
Not only is major surgery an upheaval to people's lives, it's driving rising and unsustainable healthcare costs.
It's estimated that total joint replacements cost the Australian healthcare system more than $300 million each year.
Changes to lifestyle, including diet, exercise-therapy and education, can help.
Research shows that two thirds of people with osteoarthritis will avert the need for surgery by at least two years if they participate in an appropriate physiotherapist-led education and exercise program.
For this reason, surgery might not be the best option for everyone.
Lawrie, a 66-year-old Victorian man I treated as a physiotherapist, is a case in point.
He was scheduled for a knee joint replacement surgery, after being told it was his only option to address the debilitating knee pain associated with his "bone on bone" osteoarthritis.
Lawrie was all but on the operating table when pre-surgery screening identified an underlying heart condition.
He had urgent heart surgery, followed by cardiac rehabilitation.
The latter involved education about how Lawrie could improve his lifestyle, followed by an osteoarthritis specific program of education and exercise - the Good Living with osteoarthritis from Denmark (GLA:D) program.
GLA:D is a not-for-profit program also offered in Australia through La Trobe University.
After months of rehabilitation with his physio through concurrent cardiac rehabilitation and GLA:D programs, Lawrie lost weight, was fitter and no longer needed knee surgery.
Now able to travel, and play on the floor with his grandchildren, Lawrie described GLA:D as "life changing".
Lawrie's story demonstrates how critical it is for patients to be informed of all management options before being guided towards surgery, as demonstrated in his case report.
Although his story is unique, it's not surprising that Lawrie was able to avoid surgery despite severe osteoarthritis.
Our GLA:D Australia data registry, with thousands of Australians, reflects these findings.
It's time to change our system so people like Lawrie don't need to nearly have a heart attack in order to access the care they need.
People living with osteoarthritis - and the GPs and healthcare specialists who take care of them - should be more aware of effective education and exercise programs like GLA:D.
Emily Bell is a PhD candidate at La Trobe University.
