If you have knee osteoarthritis, where should management begin? Elizabeth Tracey reports

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Let’s say you’ve been diagnosed with osteoarthritis of the knee. Stefan Coombs, an orthopedic surgeon at Johns Hopkins, says management should always begin with conservative measures first.

Coombs: It should take the course of lifestyle changes such as weight loss, activity modification and walking aids, then there's a step up to oral and topical NSAIDs, then there's a step up to injections and nerve ablation procedures and then finally you go to surgery.   :18

Coombs says weight loss is pivotal for many.

 Coombs: Just 10% weight loss of your body weight can actually cut your arthritis pain by 30 to 50%. It may also slow down the progression of the disease or in some cases stop the progression of the disease.    :13

At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.