GLA:D Osteoarthritis Programme
Physio for Willunga, McLaren Vale & Aldinga
The GLA:D programme follows the best available evidence for first line treatment of knee and hip osteoarthritis.
Do any of these sound like you?
- Have you been told that you have knee or hip osteoarthritis?
- Has your GP or surgeon told you that arthritis is likely to happen in the future?
- Have you been told that you are going to need a joint replacement, and thinking that surgery is your next step?
- Would you prefer not to go under the surgeon’s knife quite yet?
- Have you ever wondered if there are any other effective treatments apart from taking more medication?
IF ANY OF THIS DESCRIBES YOU, KEEP READING!
Would you like less pain, less medication and better quality of life?
THE PROBLEM WITH CURRENT OA TREATMENT
It may surprise you to know that (despite advertising) the first treatment option according to the medical guidelines ISN’T medication.
It certainly isn’t joint replacement surgery!
However, the recommended first line treatment for osteoarthritis is DRUG-FREE and SURGERY-FREE!
The problem is that these treatment guidelines often aren’t followed.
We know that it is much easier to use medication to reduce pain temporarily than to find somewhere that is going to offer trustworthy, effective and research-backed treatment options.
This is where the GLA:D programme comes in.
WHAT IS GLA:D?
GLA:D is a structured programme of exercise and education provided by physios specially trained in delivering the programme.
The GLA:D programme follows the best available evidence for first line treatment of knee and hip osteoarthritis.
It was created in Denmark in 2014 in response to physios realising that the first line treatment options in the medical guidelines were often skipped.
WHAT CAN GLA:D DO FOR ME?
Part of the GLA:D programme was creating a database of the results from the beginning, which helps measure its effectiveness, and build up the evidence base for the programme.
This is how we can say that the results from the GLA:D programme so far shows symptom reduction of 32%!
This is a really impressive figure, and even better when you combine it with the other outcomes including:
- Reduced use of joint related pain killers
- Less people on sick leave and
- Increased levels of physical activity 12 months after starting the programme
These results are impressive by anyone’s standards. In addition, it doesn’t include any of the risks associated with medication or surgery.
The results of a well constructed programme of exercise, advice and weight loss are simply too good to ignore.
In short: don’t skip the recommended first line of attack!