GPs have rubbished popular and "fad" treatments for osteoarthritis (OA), including opioids, acupuncture, glucosamine, stem cell therapy, insoles and surgery in new national guidelines aimed at helping millions of older Australians with the chronic condition.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners' (RACGP) new guide for managing hip and knee OA strongly warned against surgeries such as knee arthroscopy, meniscectomy and cartilage repair.

RACGP's new guide for managing hip and knee OA strongly warned against surgeries. Credit:Alamy

Released on Wednesday, the guidelines championed no-drug, non-surgical options including weight loss, exercise and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).

The GP guidelines strongly recommended against using opioids, doxycyline, interleukin-1 inhibitors and stem cell therapies for OA, citing the low or very low quality of evidence supporting their use.