For Osteoarthritis Patients, Radiation Can Bring Winter Weather Relief

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic orthopedic condition that involves pain and inflammation of the joints. The most common type of arthritis, it is a degenerative long-term condition that involves the deterioration of cartilage and increasing pain and stiffness in the joints, including the hands, knees, spine, neck, and hips, as well as other joints such as the base of the fingers and toes.

Symptoms can often worsen during the winter months due to frigid temperatures and changes in atmospheric pressure, both of which can affect joint fluids and tissues. Our joints are like barometers, and when weather gets colder and damper, it creates inflammation in the joints that can lead to increased pain, stiffness and swelling.

Although many people are familiar with arthritis or OA — which affects more than 32.5 million adults in the United States — they may be surprised to learn about an important treatment option that can bring significant relief and enhanced mobility, especially during the chilly winter season.

“Treatment for osteoarthritis can include physical therapy, medication, injections, and even joint-replacement surgery. But what patients and their families may not realize is that radiation therapy is not only for treating cancer,” says Matthew Deek, MD, a radiation oncologist at Rutgers Cancer Institute and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. “Low-dose radiation therapy is also a proven osteoarthritis treatment that can reduce pain and swelling and improve mobility and overall quality of life.”

If osteoarthritis is diagnosed, patients are encouraged to discuss treatment options with their doctor, which may include low-dose radiation in conjunction with therapy and other treatments. “Lose-dose radiation therapy is painless and noninvasive,” Dr. Deek explains. “It is usually administered in six brief, targeted sessions given two or three times per week. Patients can continue their daily activities and should expect to see improvement in their symptoms within a short time of starting therapy.”

Dr. Deek adds that this treatment is personalized and highly accurate, and that multiple joints — including hands and fingers, knees, hips, back, and shoulders — can be treated during the same session.

Risk factors for OA include heredity, traumatic injury, obesity, and poor physical fitness. Women are also more likely than men to develop osteoarthritis with age. Although there is no cure for OA, the chronic pain, lack of mobility, and other symptoms associated with the disease can often be successfully managed with low-dose radiation therapy and other prescribed treatments as well as light exercise and lifestyle changes.

“There is no reason for someone to suffer needlessly, not only from chronic pain and stiffness, but also from the social isolation and reduced quality of life that can result from limited mobility,” says Dr. Deek. “As we continue to see cold winter temperatures in the forecast, I would encourage anyone with osteoarthritis to schedule an appointment and learn more about safe, effective low-dose radiation therapy as a treatment option.”

For more information, visit www.rwjbh.org/ortho.