Lasting Arthritis Pain Relief

A study presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America details a novel procedure for joint denervation in patients with hip and shoulder arthritis. The cooled radiofrequency ablation (c-RFA), which stuns the nerves and slows the pain signals, offered relief to patients who either cannot or will not have surgery or have become unresponsive to anti-inflammatories or steroid injections. Felix M. Gonzalez, MD, from the Radiology Department at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, and coauthor of the study said, “the results were very impressive and promising. The patients with shoulder pain had a decrease in pain of 85%, and an increase in function of approximately 74%. In patients with hip pain, there was a 70% reduction in pain, and a gain in function of approximately 66%.”

The study concluded that “In patients with chronic hip and shoulder joint pain, preliminary data at our institution demonstrates a statistically significant decrease in joint pain and increase in function following image-guided C-RFA of the respective articular sensory nerve fibers.” As no complications were noted during the procedure, researchers hope for eventual expanded use of c-RFA as a treatment for other patient in pain due to trauma, sickle cell anemia, metastatic cancer, or amputations.

 

Read the abstract.

Read the press release.

Other Categories:

• opioid sparing

• orthopedics