If you have osteoarthritis and are working, you should know that many people with osteoarthritis continue to work successfully. Being flexible and creative with your workspace and, when possible, your schedule, can help with osteoarthritis management. But it won’t be easy: The pain and stiffness caused by osteoarthritis can make the activities that are part of your normal work day more difficult.
Managing osteoarthritis — which commonly affects the knee, hip, hands, and spine joints — and your job should begin with proper medical care and working with your doctor to get the right combination of exercise, weight control, and medication.
In a study published in the journal Arthritis Care & Research, researchers asked 492 people with arthritis about how they managed at work. Workers cited the following as having been helpful in staying on the job:
Adjusting their hours.
Getting help for their osteoarthritis.
Changing their behaviors at work.
But the most common coping strategy, used by 73 percent of respondents, was simply planning ahead.