Dr. Byoung Hyuck Kim, principal investigator on the trial and an assistant professor of radiation oncology at Seoul National University College of Medicine, Boramae Medical Center, noted that people with painful knee osteoarthritis “often face a difficult choice” between the risk of side effects from pain medications and the risks of joint replacement surgery.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
“There’s a clinical need for moderate interventions between weak pain medications and aggressive surgery, and we think radiation may be a suitable option for those patients, especially when drugs and injections are poorly tolerated,” he said in a statement.
Other lifestyle factors, such as weight loss, should be factored into the consideration of low-dose radiation as treatment, according to the researchers. (iStock)
Radiation therapy may be a better fit for patients with underlying inflammation and preserved joint structure, Kim added.
“For severe osteoarthritis, where the joint is physically destroyed and cartilage is already gone, radiation will not regenerate tissue,” he said. “But for people with mild to moderate disease, this approach could delay the need for joint replacement.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES
This treatment should also be considered alongside other lifestyle factors, including weight loss, physiotherapy and medications because responses could be “even stronger when radiation is properly combined with other treatments,” Kim said.
“And patient satisfaction may be higher than with current options alone.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The study did have some limitations, the researchers confirmed, including the relatively short follow-up period.
The researchers are planning for larger trials to evaluate the outcomes in specific groups of people, comparing low-dose radiation injections with medication regimens.
