Osteoarthritis (OA)
What is Osteoarthritis (OA)
Osteoarthritis is a long-term condition where the joints in your body become inflamed and damaged. Over time, the cartilage layer that protects the ends of your bones wears away and new spikes of bone develop. Without cartilage, the bones in the joint rub together, causing pain, swelling, stiffness and reduced movement. This can make it harder for you to walk, climb stairs, or do other daily activities.
The condition can affect any joint in your body, but often it affects the knees, hips, fingers, big toes, ankles and spine. It can worsen over time.
Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis in Australia. It is not the same as osteoporosis, a different condition where your bones become weak, fragile and more likely to break.

What are the symptoms?
The main symptoms of osteoarthritis are:
- joint pain and stiffness
- problems with moving joints
- clicking noises or grating sensations when moving a joint
- less joint flexibility than before
- swelling and weakness of a joint
When you first develop osteoarthritis, you may only notice symptoms in your joints when you are moving them. As time goes on, you might notice symptoms with less activity or when you’re not moving. Some people have mild symptoms, while others may experience more severe, ongoing symptoms.
How can we help?
At Fortius Allied Health, we’re about inspiring and helping you to move your body, and experience life unrestrained by pain, injury, disease and illness.
Whatever your favourite way to move is (physical activity, exercise, sport, active play, etc) we will help you to keep moving and doing the things you love longer.
We are a team on the Sunshine Coast, combining physiotherapy and exercise physiology. We can’t wait to share our philosophy and help you moving again!

Are you having a joint replacement?
Joint School is a pre-surgical education program that is delivered by one of our Physiotherapists in conjunction with a Nurse Practitioner from the Sunshine Coast Orthopaedic Group.
