Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint condition in Australia, affecting approximately two million people. Despite being frequently described as wear and tear (a phrase that implies inevitability and limited treatment potential), the evidence tells a different story. Joint loading, muscle strength, movement quality, and body weight are all modifiable factors that significantly influence OA progression, pain, and function.
Our practitioners have extensive experience in the management of complex, age-related arthritic presentations. Meet the team and read more about our approach to long-term musculo-skeletal conditions.
What Is Osteoarthritis?
OA is a condition of joint degeneration affecting all the tissues of the joint: cartilage, bone, synovium, ligaments, and muscle. It is characterised by progressive loss of articular cartilage, reactive bone changes, and joint space narrowing visible on X-ray. However, the correlation between radiological findings and symptoms is poor. Treatment should be driven by your symptoms and function, not your scan results.
Commonly Affected Joints
- Knee OA: the most common form, presenting with pain on stairs and after prolonged sitting. Associated with quadriceps weakness and altered gait mechanics.
- Hip OA: groin, lateral hip, or buttock pain, reduced hip rotation and extension, and a gradual loss of walking endurance.
- Lumbar spine (facet joint) OA: morning stiffness, pain with prolonged standing or extension, typically easing with movement. See our low back pain page for a full overview.
- Cervical spine OA: neck stiffness, often with referral to the shoulder girdle, headaches, or arm symptoms. See our neck pain page.
- Finger and wrist joints, particularly in post-menopausal women.
What We Can Do
- Joint mobilisation: gentle, specific movements to maintain and improve joint range of motion and reduce pain.
- Soft tissue therapy and dry needling to address muscular guarding, trigger points, and the muscle weakness that accompanies OA.
- Exercise prescription: the single most evidence-supported intervention for OA. Read our blog on combining chiropractic care with a strength training programme for context on why active rehabilitation matters.
- Education and pain science: understanding OA accurately reduces fear, improves engagement with active treatment, and leads to better outcomes.
- Weight and lifestyle advice where relevant, as reducing body weight significantly unloads OA-affected joints.
- Referral and co-management for moderate to severe OA, working alongside your GP, rheumatologist, or orthopaedic surgeon.
What We Cannot Do
Chiropractic care does not reverse structural OA changes or regrow cartilage. Our goal is to maximise your function and quality of life within your current joint capacity, and to slow the progression of disability with the best tools available.
How Waterloo Chiropractic Can Help
At Waterloo Chiropractic, we have experience managing osteoarthritis across a wide range of joints and age groups. We understand that OA is not simply an inevitable consequence of ageing; it is a condition with modifiable drivers, and the decisions made about activity, loading, and movement quality have a real impact on how it progresses and how much it limits your life.
Our assessment establishes which joints are affected, the severity of your current symptoms, your functional limitations, and your goals. From there, we build a care plan that combines joint mobilisation to maintain and improve range of motion, soft tissue therapy and dry needling to address muscular guarding and associated pain, and an evidence-based exercise programme to strengthen the muscles around the affected joints and reduce the load they carry.
We take a realistic and honest approach: we will tell you clearly what we can and cannot achieve, what the evidence supports, and how our care fits alongside any other management you are receiving from your GP or specialist. For patients preparing for or recovering from joint replacement surgery, we also offer prehabilitation and post-surgical rehabilitation support. Read about what to expect on your first visit.
Living with arthritis does not have to mean living in pain. Call (02) 9690 0911 or book online. Shop 265, 8 Lachlan St, Waterloo NSW 2017. Monday to Friday 7am to 8pm, Saturday 9am to 1pm.