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. 2015 Sep 9;5(9):e009117. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-009117

Table 3.

Received recommended and non-recommended non-surgical treatments by patients as reported by patients

 
Received by*
Non-surgical treatment Received, n (%) Orthopaedic surgeon, n (%) Other healthcare professional, n (%) Own initiative, n (%)
Education about OA 139 (80) 95 (68) 30 (22) 31 (22)
Education about different treatment options 115 (66) 80 (70) 27 (23) 21 (18)
Lifestyle advice 107 (62) 37 (35) 40 (37) 40 (37)
Dietary therapy, if indicated
 BMI ≥25 <30 9 (11) 2 (22) 3 (33) 5 (56)
 BMI ≥30 14 (30) 1 (7) 7 (50) 6 (43)
Physical therapy 127 (73) 33 (26) 70 (55) 36 (28)
 Contained exercises 116 (91)
Acetaminophen 125 (72) 26 (21) 30 (24) 73 (58)
NSAIDs 111 (64) 43 (39) 51 (46) 19 (17)
Tramadol 44 (25) 21 (48) 24 (55) 1 (2)
Glucosamine sulfate 58 (33) 7 (12) 9 (16) 46 (79)
Multidisciplinary care 12 (7) 4 (33) 8 (67) 1 (8)
TENS 10 (6) 0 10 (100) 0
Intra-articular injections (knee OA n=94) 54 (57) 46 (85) 12 (22) 0
 Glucocorticoid 28 (30)
 Hyaluronic acid 7 (7)
 Unknown 20 (37)

*Multiple options possible, thus the sum of orthopaedic surgeon, other healthcare professional and own initiative can be >100%.

BMI, body mass index; NSAIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; OA, osteoarthritis; TENS, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation.