Seniors who learn they have knee osteoarthritis often start taking pain relievers on their own, without the advice of a health professional, new Canadian research finds.
Many of these seniors end up taking the wrong kind of medication, found the study authors, from the University of British Columbia and the University of Alberta.
For a study appearing in the April issue of the journal Arthritis Care & Research, the researchers asked pharmacists in Vancouver and Edmonton to recruit seniors aged 50 or older who complained of knee pain, aching or discomfort who had not been diagnosed with arthritis.
A total of 190 participants were later confirmed to have knee osteoarthritis through a physical exam and tests. Of them, 43 per cent were considered overweight and 24 per cent were obese, based on their body mass index.
The researchers found that most of the patients tried to treat the condition themselves – and for the most part, they took the right approach.
- 75 per cent were participating in aerobic, strength, or endurance exercises such as walking or biking, which is recommended to increase mobility
- 33 per cent were using activity aids including knee tape, braces, or shoe inserts
- 52 per cent had begun taking prescription or nonprescription pain relievers
But the researchers found that 50 per cent had begun using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen and COX-2 inhibitors. Only 25 per cent were taking acetaminophen, commonly sold as Tylenol, even though acetaminophen is the initial treatment of choice recommended in rheumatology guidelines. That's because the medication has been found to be effective for arthritis, cheap and -- importantly -- safe for most patients.
"Most concerning was the greater number of participants who opted to first use NSAIDs prior to trying acetaminophen, which is the treatment of choice for knee OA pain relief," write the researchers.
"Furthermore, the decision to try analgesic therapy was often made on their own or on the advice of family and friends, suggesting that many may choose to disregard the advice of health professionals in favor of their own preferences of well-being," they added.
The researchers also found that not all the self-treatment was helpful. For example, 36 per cent of those in the study took natural supplements such as glucosamine and chondroitin – "despite evidence of limited efficacy" of these supplements. But often, the supplements were taken with effective painkillers, they noted.
Six months after the volunteers were recruited, 93 per cent of them had finally seen their family physician about their arthritis. Most also reported improvements in their quality of life, including reduced pain and more mobility.
The researchers concede that the study was sometwhat limited becasue it didn't use a control group, and the volunteers self-reported their lifestyle changes.
They say they are preparing to release the results of a similar trial that randomly assigned seniors to test a multidisciplinary approach to managing knee osteoarthritis.
