Early osteoarthritis—definition, pathogenesis, diagnosis, management and prevention: management

The concept of early knee osteoarthritis (EKOA) is herein discussed in order to detect and intervene in patients who are at risk of developing definitive KOA. In particular, EKOA should be suspected in the differential diagnosis of patients having knee pain without radiographic KOA, such as Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) grade 0 or 1. The current review discusses the evidence on non-surgical and surgical management for early KOA. We reviewed 22 papers on non-surgical management of early KOA; the majority of studies were case-controls or case series, with a paucity of randomized control trials having been conducted. Strong evidence is still lacking about how to manage the EKOA patient most effectively.