Modern therapy of osteoarthritis (OA) consists of four sequential stages and includes non-pharmacological, pharmacological and surgical methods of treatment, and also assumes the possibility of collaborative management of the patient by doctors of different specialties, which allows to optimize the processes of diagnosis and treatment. The article presents simple and convenient algorithms, including diagnostic criteria, options for providing medical care, as well as situations (so-called red flags) that require referral of a patient to a specialist, primarily a rheumatologist. It has been demonstrated that the early use of the well-proven SYSADOA in any localization of OA, in particular the combined drugs of chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine, can increase the effectiveness of treatment, reduce possible functional disorders, and minimize the adverse effects of analgesic therapy.