If you have pain at the base of your thumb where it meets your wrist, you may have a condition called rhizarthrosis. Rhizarthrosis is a type of arthritis that affects the joint at the bottom of your thumb. This joint is called the carpometacarpal joint.
Many people with this condition find it hard to grip things, open jars, or turn keys. The pain can make everyday tasks difficult. You might be looking for ways to feel better without surgery.
This article explains a study that looked at a special treatment using low dose radiation therapy. This treatment may help reduce pain and improve how your thumb feels.
Key Findings at a Glance
- About 70% of patients felt better right after treatment and one year later
- Larger treatment fields (bigger than 6 x 4 cm) worked better than smaller fields
- The treatment used very low doses of radiation, much safer than cancer treatment
- Older patients responded better to the therapy
- No serious side effects were reported from the treatment
In This Article
What is rhizarthrosis and why does it hurt?
Rhizarthrosis is the medical name for arthritis in your thumb joint. The joint sits right where your thumb meets your wrist. This joint does a lot of work every day.
When the cushion between the bones wears away, the bones rub together. This rubbing causes inflammation. Inflammation is when an area becomes red, swollen, and painful. Over time, this can make simple tasks feel impossible.
Many people try splints, injections, or even surgery to feel better. But what if there was another option?
What is low dose radiation therapy?
You may be wondering what radiation therapy has to do with your thumb. Most people think radiation is only used for cancer. That is true most of the time. But doctors have used very low doses of radiation for other painful conditions for many years.
Low dose radiation therapy uses much less radiation than cancer treatment. It is measured in units called Gray, or Gy for short. Cancer patients might get 50 to 70 Gy over many weeks. For thumb arthritis, this study used only 6 Gy total. That is much, much less.
The radiation helps calm down inflammation in the joint. It works by affecting the cells that cause swelling and pain. The effect builds up over time.
Here is where it gets interesting. The doctors wanted to know if the size of the area they treated mattered.
What did the study find?
According to this study, researchers treated 84 patients with thumb arthritis. Some patients had arthritis in both thumbs, so 101 joints were treated in total. The treatment involved 6 sessions over about 3 weeks. Each session delivered 1 Gy of radiation. Patients came twice a week.
Research shows that about 70% of patients felt better right after treatment ended. This means 7 out of every 10 people had less pain. Three months later, about 60% still felt better. One year after treatment, 70% of patients still had relief.
These results are encouraging. Many patients felt relief that lasted a full year. That is a long time to feel better from just 6 treatment sessions.
Why does field size matter?
Let us look closer at what the researchers discovered about field size. Field size means how large an area the radiation covers. Think of it like shining a flashlight. A small field is like a narrow beam. A large field is like a wide beam.
Most radiation treatments for pain use small fields. Doctors want to expose as little tissue as possible to radiation. This makes sense for safety. But this study found something surprising.
According to this study, larger fields worked better than smaller fields. Patients treated with fields bigger than 6 x 4 centimeters had better results. That is about the size of a small smartphone screen. Patients treated with smaller fields did not respond as well.
This was the most important finding in the study. Field size was highly connected to whether treatment worked. The researchers said this should be studied more in future research.
Why might larger fields work better? The researchers think that treating more of the area around the joint helps calm down inflammation better. The inflammation may spread beyond just the joint itself.
Who benefits most from this treatment?
The study looked at many factors to see who responded best. Here is what they found.
Age matters
Older patients had better responses to treatment. The study does not say exactly why. It may be that older patients have different types of inflammation that respond better to radiation.
Initial pain increase is a warning sign
Some patients felt more pain during the first treatments. This initial increase in pain was a sign that treatment might not work well for them. If your pain gets worse at first, it may mean this treatment is not right for you.
Things that did not matter
Many factors did not affect whether treatment worked. These included:
- Whether you are male or female
- How long you had pain before treatment
- Whether you had pain during activity or at rest
- Whether you used splints before
- Whether you had injections before
- Whether you had surgery before
- How long the treatment series took (as long as it was completed)
This is good news. It means this treatment can help many different people. Your gender and treatment history do not matter much. What matters most is field size and how you respond in the first few treatments.
About this site
This website helps people understand medical research about thumb pain and rhizarthrosis. We read published scientific articles and explain them in simple language. We never make up facts. Everything comes from real studies done by doctors and researchers.
Our goal is to help you make informed choices about your health. We invite you to explore more articles on our site. Each one breaks down complex medical science into words anyone can understand.
Common Questions
Is radiation therapy safe for thumb arthritis?
According to this study, low dose radiation therapy appears safe. The doses used are much lower than cancer treatment. The study reports no serious side effects. However, like any medical treatment, you should discuss risks and benefits with your doctor.
How long does the treatment take?
Research shows that patients received 6 treatment sessions over about 3 weeks. Each session delivers 1 Gy of radiation. Patients came twice a week. The actual treatment time for each session is very short, usually just a few minutes.
Will the pain relief last?
According to this study, about 70% of patients still felt better one year after treatment. Some patients felt relief for even longer. However, everyone is different. Some people may need additional treatment later.
Can I get this treatment if I already had surgery or injections?
Studies indicate that prior treatments like splints, injections, or surgery did not affect whether radiation therapy worked. This means you may still be a candidate even if you tried other treatments first. Your doctor can help you decide.
What this means for you
If you have painful thumb arthritis, you have options. Low dose radiation therapy may help reduce your pain. This treatment is not widely known, but research supports its use.
The most important finding is that field size matters. Larger treatment areas seem to work better than smaller ones. This is different from most other conditions treated with radiation.
About 7 out of 10 patients felt better after treatment. Many still felt better a year later. These are encouraging numbers.
If you are interested in this treatment, talk to your doctor. Ask if there is a radiation therapy center near you that treats benign conditions. Benign means not cancer. Not all centers offer this service, but some do.
You deserve to have less pain. This treatment may be one way to get there.
Important disclaimer
This article is for educational purposes only. It is not medical advice. Every person is different. What works for one person may not work for another.
Always talk to your doctor before starting any new treatment. Your doctor knows your medical history. They can help you decide if low dose radiation therapy is right for you.
Do not stop or change any current treatments without talking to your doctor first.
Scientific source
This article is based on research published by Kaltenborn, A., Bulling, E., Nitsche, M., Carl, U. M., and Hermann, R. M. in Strahlenther Onkol (2016).
Read the full scientific article here
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