Occupational therapy in the multidisciplinary assessment and management of osteoarthritis.

As part of the multidisciplinary assessment of osteoarthritis, two occupational therapists evaluated the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis in the hands of 77 patients. The patients were seen every two weeks for 12 weeks. Initially 58% considered themselves disabled; their mean disability score, on a scale of 0 to 3, was 1.7. Crepitus and pain of the joints and tendons occurred in 36% of the patients. Three hundred fifty-five cysts/nodules, primarily bony, were identified, the mean number being significantly greater (P less than 0.05) for women (8.8) than for men (5.3). Despite considerable disability due to osteoarthritis, none of these patients had ever consulted an occupational therapist. At the end of the study, the mean disability score was 1.2, significantly (P less than 0.05) lower than the initial score. Osteoarthritis of the hand was associated with considerable disability, more so in women than in men, and improvement was evident when an occupational therapist participated in the management of this disease.