Osteoarthritis

According to the Arthritis Foundation, 66 million (nearly one in three adults) suffer from chronic joint pain and 21 million Americans suffer from osteoarthritis (OA), the most common form of arthritis, which is characterized by a breakdown of the cartilage and a deterioration of the fluid in a joint. The symptoms of osteoarthritis include pain, from moderate to severe, and stiffness. Most people who have osteoarthritis are older than age 45, and women are more commonly affected than men.

What is Osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease that involves the degradation of joints, articular cartilage, and subchondral bone as a result of mechanical stress.

Osteoarthritis Causes

Osteoarthritis Treatments

Osteoarthritis Diagnosis

Living with Osteoarthritis

Supplements for Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis Complications

Causes of Hand Pain

Osteoarthritis Symptoms

Osteoarthritis and Diet

Should You Exercise With Osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis Types

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Natural Ways to Ease Osteoarthritis Pain

Osteoarthritis Triggers

Easing Hand Pain in Osteoarthritis

Turmeric for Osteoarthritis

Latest Osteoarthritis News and Research

GLP-1 treatments may reduce knee replacement surgery rates

GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs, used for the treatment of diabetes, and more recently, weight loss, are associated with a significantly lower long term risk of knee replacement surgery as a result of osteoarthritis, finds an analysis of medical records data, published in the open access journal Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine.

2 Jun 2026

Existing drug mitigates muscle loss from GLP-1 medications

Millions of Americans are currently taking GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic or Wegovy for weight loss.

2 Jun 2026

$2 million NIH funding supports wearable knee exoskeleton research

Building on the success of projects to boost strength by adding motors to conventional knee, hip and ankle braces, a University of Michigan team is exploring how well this approach could work for relieving knee pain from osteoarthritis.

1 Jun 2026

How common spices may improve gut, brain, and metabolic health

The health effects of spices are explored, revealing their potential to influence blood sugar, inflammation, and brain function through various mechanisms.

28 May 2026

New study reveals barriers to Medicaid-funded home care access

Obtaining home care for older adults with Medicaid can be a complex, multi-step process marked by delays and uncertainty, often resulting in long wait times, according to a new Weill Cornell Medicine study.

26 May 2026

Graph neural networks accelerate drug discovery for complex bone diseases

Announcing a new publication for Acta Materia Medica journal. Traditional Chinese medicine has shown therapeutic potential in treating osteoarthritis (OA) by regulating inflammation and maintaining cartilage homeostasis.

22 May 2026

Greater weight loss from GLP-1 drugs lowers health complication risk

New research to be presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2026, Istanbul, Turkey, 12-15 May) shows that, following treatment for obesity or diabetes or both using incretin-based drugs, losing more weight versus less weight, and losing a little weight versus gaining weight, both lead to relatively lower risk of obesity-related conditions.

10 May 2026

Randomized controlled trial validates total hip arthroplasty for improving functional capacity

Total hip arthroplasty leads to the best outcomes in the treatment of moderate-to-severe hip osteoarthritis, according to a new study by the University of Eastern Finland and Kuopio University Hospital. During a one-year follow-up, surgery combined with conservative treatment was found to relieve pain and improve functional capacity and quality of life more effectively than conservative treatment alone, which was based on an exercise program.

4 May 2026

New research shows weight loss is possible without GLP-1

Glucagon-like peptide-1 agonism - GLP-1, common in obesity medicines - is not essential to weight management, according to preclinical research led by Richard DiMarchi and Matthias Tschöp, with funding from their startup company Bluewater Biosciences.

30 Apr 2026

Obesity leaves lasting molecular tags on the immune system

People who live with obesity are 'tagging' a memory of being overweight on a key part of the immune system - leaving people with ongoing risk of obesity-related conditions years after losing weight, according to a 10 year-long study published in EMBO Reports.

27 Apr 2026

New study maps early molecular changes in jaw joint osteoarthritis

Temporomandibular joint disorders (TMDs) affect a large portion of the global population and are a common source of chronic jaw pain and difficulty in chewing or speaking.

23 Apr 2026

Simple chair-rise test signals future health risks in seniors

How easily older adults can stand up from a chair may be a telling indicator of their overall quality of life.

21 Apr 2026

Proteomics and AI bring earlier risk prediction into sharper focus

This review examines how high-throughput proteomics is expanding precision medicine by improving biomarker discovery, disease prediction, and drug development. It also shows how AI is helping researchers interpret complex proteomic data while highlighting major barriers such as standardization, validation, and clinical translation.

19 Apr 2026

Key gene variants tied to developmental dysplasia of the hip and osteoarthritis

Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is a polygenetic disorder that increases the risk of hip osteoarthritis.

17 Apr 2026

Ultra-processed diets may harm muscle health

Ultra-processed food diets may impair muscle health, with MRI findings showing increased fat infiltration in individuals at risk for knee osteoarthritis.

17 Apr 2026

Study links ultra-processed food intake to poorer thigh muscle quality

A Radiology study of 615 adults at risk for knee osteoarthritis found that higher ultra-processed food intake was associated with greater fat infiltration in thigh muscles on MRI, a marker of poorer muscle quality. The association remained after adjustment for BMI, was stronger in models using abdominal circumference, and did not differ significantly by sex.

15 Apr 2026

Extracellular vesicles from menstrual blood cells show potential to stimulate cartilage repair

New research by an interdisciplinary team in Lithuania has revealed a promising and unconventional approach to cartilage regeneration.

10 Apr 2026

Duloxetine fails to prevent nerve damage caused by chemotherapy

A randomized trial conducted by the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology with support from the National Cancer Institute has found that duloxetine, a medication commonly used to treat chronic pain and psychiatric conditions, does not prevent nerve damage caused by chemotherapy in patients with colorectal cancer.

8 Apr 2026

Sleep apnea raises risk of cardiovascular events and death

New research to be presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2026, Istanbul, Turkey, 12-15 May) shows that those living with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have a 71% higher risk of cardiovascular events (CVEs) or death from any cause (all-cause mortality) compared with those not living with OSA.

2 Apr 2026

Kinesio taping offers limited benefits for treating musculoskeletal pain and mobility

Kinesio taping, or 'KT tape' as it's usually known-widely used to ease joint/muscle pain and boost range of movement-may not be all that effective, suggests a pooled data analysis of the existing evidence, published in the online journal BMJ Evidence Based Medicine.

1 Apr 2026