Clinical Features and Diagnosis of Osteoarthritis

Abstract

Clinical criteria will continue to play an important role in the diagnosis of osteoarthritis until a diagnostic method that integrates clinical findings with aetiological, biochemical and histological abnormalities is developed [1]. One of the most enduring clinical criteria for osteoarthritis of the knee is the classification system developed for the American Rheumatism Association in 1986 [1]. The aim was to standardise and clarify the clinical definition of idiopathic osteoarthritis, using commonly available diagnostic techniques.