{"id":20258,"date":"2025-09-23T11:00:52","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T15:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/?p=20258"},"modified":"2025-09-23T11:03:44","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T15:03:44","slug":"scientists-find-a-way-to-ease-arthritis-pain-without-medication-or-surgery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/health\/scientists-find-a-way-to-ease-arthritis-pain-without-medication-or-surgery-20258\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientists find a way to ease arthritis pain without medication or surgery"},"content":{"rendered":"

Living with osteoarthritis<\/strong><\/a> often means managing pain with pills, injections, or preparing for joint replacement down the line. Researchers have now identified a simple approach that doesn’t involve medication or surgery<\/strong><\/a>, and it may protect joints as well as relieve pain.<\/p>\n

A new randomized controlled trial, published in The Lancet Rheumatology<\/strong><\/a> and led by a team at the University of Utah, shows that gait retraining, or changing how people walk, can reduce pain in the knee and slow cartilage damage<\/strong>. In this article, we’ll look at what the study found and why it could reshape treatment for knee osteoarthritis.<\/p>\n

How gait retraining could ease arthritis pain<\/h2>\n

The study followed 68 people with mild-to-moderate medial knee osteoarthritis, the most common form of the disease. Participants were first assessed with MRIs and motion-capture technology to analyze their walking mechanics. Researchers then prescribed a personalized adjustment to the angle of the foot while walking<\/strong>. For some, that meant turning the foot slightly inward; for others, outward.<\/p>\n

This wasn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Each prescription was based on which angle best reduced stress on the participant’s medial knee. Those who received the tailored intervention trained weekly with biofeedback devices that vibrated on their shin to reinforce the new gait<\/strong>. Over time, the new way of walking became habitual.<\/p>\n

After a year, participants reported pain relief that rivaled common painkillers<\/strong>. MRIs also showed slower deterioration of cartilage compared with those in the placebo group, who had been asked to walk with their natural gait.<\/p>\n

According to lead author Scott Uhlrich, lead researcher of the study, “the reported decrease in pain over the placebo group was somewhere between what you’d expect from an over-the-counter medication<\/strong>, like ibuprofen, and a narcotic, like oxycontin”.<\/p>\n

The relevance of the study for arthritis treatment<\/h2>\n

Current osteoarthritis treatment is limited. Pain relief usually relies on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroid injections, or opioids in severe cases. For many patients, surgery like knee replacement becomes the final option after years of managing symptoms. Gait retraining offers a different path: a low-cost, noninvasive approach that patients can maintain on their own once learned<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

One of the study’s most promising findings was that participants adhered to the new walking style long after supervised training ended. This suggests gait retraining could become a lasting part of daily life<\/strong>, not just a temporary therapy. As one participant explained, “I don’t have to take a drug or wear a device\u2026it’s just a part of my body now that will be with me for the rest of my days”.<\/p>\n

There are hurdles before the method can be widely adopted. The study relied on advanced motion-capture systems to measure joint loading and prescribe foot angles. Researchers hope to translate the process into more accessible tools<\/strong>, such as smartphone video analysis or wearable “smart shoes” that provide real-time feedback.<\/p>\n

For people in their 40s and 50s facing decades of osteoarthritis before surgery is even considered, gait retraining could fill a large treatment gap. By reducing pain<\/strong><\/a> and slowing progression, it may help patients stay active longer without heavy reliance on medication<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Living with osteoarthritis often means managing pain with pills, injections, or preparing for joint replacement down the line. Researchers have now identified a simple approach that doesn’t involve medication or surgery, and it may protect joints as well as relieve pain. A new randomized controlled trial, published in The Lancet Rheumatology and led by a … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":20265,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20258"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20258\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20268,"href":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20258\/revisions\/20268"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}