First Ever Osteoarthritis Patient Guidelines Published by CreakyJoints

UPPER NYACK, N.Y.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–CreakyJoints® today announced the expansion of their patient guidelines library with the publication of “Raising the Voice of Patients: A Patient’s Guide to Living With Osteoarthritis.” This volume is the first ever to be developed by and for patients, and reviewed by rheumatologists, specifically for use by people living with osteoarthritis and their caregivers. Other volumes in the Raising the Voice of Patients series address rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and family planning for people living with arthritis. CreakyJoints will continue to develop and publish patient guidelines that address related conditions, such chronic pain, joint replacement, juvenile arthritis, and gout.

@CreakyJoints publishes new patient guidelines on #osteoarthritis #arthritis Download at CreakyJoints.org

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“The OA patient guidelines help the newly diagnosed, as well as experienced patients like me, better understand our management options. We are able to position ourselves as a significant voice in determining our care. They help me communicate treatment preferences and goals that fit my lifestyle,” stated osteoarthritis patient and CreakyJoints co-founder and Executive Director Louis Tharp.

“I’m a swimmer so the non-medical part of my treatment will focus on what I can do in the water, how much, and how often. Other people with OA are walkers or runners. Some are sedentary. It’s up to us to create an OA treatment plan that respects what we can do as well as what medicine does. With information from the OA Patient Guidelines we can help create a plan that works for us because we’re the ones who are ultimately responsible for our quality of life.”

Unique Conditions Demand Unique Guidance

The patient guidelines were written by a dedicated panel that included patients, rheumatologists, and CreakyJoints’ staff writers. Similar to other patient guidelines, it opens with a Patient Charter that asserts CreakyJoints’ perspective that patients should be at the center of the care with access to treatments that are not limited by external forces (financial or otherwise). The patient guidelines describe the symptoms, diagnosis and possible prognosis associated with OA. In addition, the wide range of treatment options ranging from medications to holistic and complementary therapies (e.g. diet, physical therapies, and meditation) are detailed without bias, based on best evidence, to provide a comprehensive education to patients and families making decisions about their future health.

“Over 54 million Americans have “CreakyJoints,” OA being the most common form of arthritis reported. That’s why it is vital that people living with arthritis have a credible and comprehensive resource to consult in between appointments as questions about treatment and management inevitably arise,” stated Seth Ginsberg, President and Co-Founder of CreakyJoints. “We’ll keep developing and publishing patient guidelines specific to arthritic conditions because we know that our community is eager to arm themselves with education and information that will allow them to become central to making decisions about their treatment strategy.”

“Raising the Voice of the Patients: A Patient’s Guide to Living with Osteoarthritis,” was under the medical direction and review of Dr. David Borenstein, M.D., Clinical Professor of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology at The George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, DC, Dr. Jonathan Krant, M.D., Chairman of Medicine & Section Chief of Rheumatology, Adirondack Health Systems, Saranac Lake, New York, and Dr. Tuhina Neogi, M.D., Ph. D., Professor of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Professor, Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health.

“A Patient’s Guide to Living with Osteoarthritis” as well as other Raising the Voice of Patients volumes are available for free download at www.CreakyJoints.org/patientguidelines

About CreakyJoints

CreakyJoints®, founded in 1999, is the go-to source for more millions of arthritis patients and their families world-wide who are seeking education, support, advocacy, and patient-centered research. CreakyJoints is part of the Global Healthy Living Foundation, whose mission is to improve the quality of life for people with chronic illness. For more information and to become a member (for free), visit www.CreakyJoints.org. To participate in CreakyJoints research visit www.ArthritisPower.org.