Kenneth Brandt is an opinion leader in the field of osteoarthritis. In the pocketsize book, Diagnosis and Nonsurgical Management of Osteoarthritis, he gives an authoritative view on the present state of the field of osteoarthritis, focusing on practical aspects.

He has a message for the reader: osteoarthritis is sadly often viewed incorrectly as a condition that, once it becomes symptomatic, follows an inexorably downhill course, much like Alzheimer's disease. This is reflected in the use of the inaccurate, depressing term “degenerative joint disease”, causing a sense of inevitability and futility. If physicians continue to convey this view to patients, they are wrong. Most patients with osteoarthritis …