Intervention Strategies for Preventing Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review

Can any intervention prevent knee osteoarthritis from developing or from progressing?

1481 participants across 3 randomized — what this means trials, adults at risk of or living with knee OA (including community-dwelling women with BMI ≥25 kg/m²)

Systematic review — what this means of RCTs — what this means with narrative synthesis, databases searched to June 2025; outcomes included knee pain/disability, joint imaging, and knee replacement incidence

• Only 5 reports from 3 RCTs — what this means met criteria despite a broad search
• A self-management lifestyle program reduced risk of developing knee OA-related pain at 12 months versus one education session (RR 0.27; 95% CI — what this means 0.16–0.46)
• Evidence was too uncertain to judge diet plus exercise, glucosamine, the combination, or intra-articular sprifermin for preventing progression or arthroplasty
• Effect sizes — what this means for the uncertain comparisons were not reported

Lifestyle self-management shows early promise for preventing knee OA pain in overweight women, but the overall prevention evidence base is very small and largely inconclusive.