Clinical Aspects of Hand Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common musculoskeletal diseases, suggested by the World Health Organization to be the fourth leading cause of disability by 2020. About 50% of us get osteoarthritis. The hand is frequently affected, and often ignored by the health care system. This book is written with the aim of improving the understanding about evidence-based management, clinical assessment, and disease impact in hand osteoarthritis. Relevant themes as diagnostic criteria, pathogenesis, epidemiology, functional consequences, modifiable and non-modifiable risk-factors are thoroughly discussed. Knowledge about how hand osteoarthritis impacts the individual, how hand osteoarthritis is assessed, and evidence based knowledge about the effects of various treatment strategies are explored and summed up further.