Base of thumb osteoarthritis: Your guide

Written in association with: Dr Richard Shaffer
Published: | Updated: 04/01/2024
Edited by: Aoife Maguire

Osteoarthritis of the thumb can be debilitating, causing problems in everyday life. Consultant radiotherapy specialist Dr Richard Shaffer explains more about how radiotherapy can be used to treat the condition.

How does radiotherapy alleviate symptoms of thumb osteoarthritis?

Radiotherapy for base of thumb osteoarthritis acts to reduce inflammation in the following ways:

  • It helps prevent immune cells (leukocytes) from entering the inflamed areas
  • Changes the communication between cells (cytokines) to be more calming.
  • Increases the natural fading away of some immune cells, and transforms others (macrophages) into helpful cells that ease inflammation.

Some people may consider it as a special treatment that empowers the joints to feel better, by soothing inflammation.

Furthermore, radiotherapy helps by making the bit of bone alongside the joint stronger, and prevents it from breaking down. It is almost like giving the bones a special treatment to keep them healthy and less likely to become damaged.


What are the expected outcomes of radiotherapy for thumb osteoarthritis?

Overall, studies have demonstrated that around 68% of patients have had a good response or gotten better after using low-dose radiotherapy on their hand and wrist for osteoarthritis.

This overall result comes from seven studies about treating hand osteoarthritis, where doctors examined 994 patients and discovered that using low-dose radiotherapy was helpful.


Are there specific criteria for patients to be eligible for radiotherapy for thumb osteoarthritis?

In order to be eligible for radiotherapy for thumb osteoarthritis you must have had an X-ray (or another scan) to show that you have osteoarthritis. Additionally, if other simple things such as exercises or avoiding particular movements have not been effective then you may want to consider treatment.

With thumb osteoarthritis, the pain often can make it difficult to do particular things such as gripping, pinching, turning or twisting, or lifting heavy objects. These are all reasons to consider whether radiotherapy can be beneficial in reducing pain and allowing you to return to doing the things that you need to do.


Are there any potential long-term effects or complications associated with radiotherapy for this condition?

Radiotherapy doses for thumb osteoarthritis are very low, normally around one-twentieth of the dose used to treat patients with cancer.  As a result of the low dosage, side effects tend to be very mild.

The treatment may cause minor skin reddening and soreness, but quickly improves.


How soon can patients expect relief from symptoms after undergoing radiotherapy?

For some patients, pain improves immediately after treatment ends, although for most people it takes several months for the treatment to take full effect.




If you would like to book a consultation with Dr Shaffer, simply visit his Top Doctors profile today.

By Dr Richard Shaffer
Clinical oncology

Dr Richard Shaffer is a leading radiotherapy specialist and clinical oncologist based in London and Surrey. He has a specialist interest in treating benign (non-malignant) conditions with radiotherapy, including Dupuytren's disease, Ledderhose (plantar fibromatosis), plantar fasciitis, insertional Achilles tendonitis and keloid scarring.
 
He was the first in the UK to treat patients with osteoarthritis (of the hand, hip, knee, foot, elbow, shoulder), tendinopathy (including tennis elbow, golfers elbow, patellar tendonitis, rotator cuff syndrome, de Quervain’s tendonitis) and bursitis (including trochanteric bursitis or greater trochanteric pain syndrome, GTPS). He also treats patients post-operatively with radiotherapy for heterotopic ossification and pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS). He uses the latest radiotherapy technology to do this.
 
Dr Richard Shaffer is president of the International Organisation for Radiotherapy for Benign Conditions. He is clinical lead for benign radiotherapy for GenesisCare UK. He is co-author of a 2015 and 2023 Royal College of Radiologists documents on the use of radiotherapy for benign conditions, and on the most recent German benign radiotherapy guidelines. Dr Richard Shaffer previously worked as the clinical lead for radiotherapy in Guildford and he chaired The Network Radiotherapy Group and the Radiotherapy Strategy Group.
 
Dr Richard Shaffer has also chaired the Radiotherapy Technology Development Group and led the Brain Tumour Working Group from 2010 to 2019. Dr Shaffer was the principal investigator on several treatment studies in prostate cancer, skin cancer and brain tumours. He supervised a clinical fellow in a programme of clinical and lab-based radiobiological research. Before working at Royal Surrey County Hospital, Dr Richard Shaffer undertook his oncology training in London and later completed a Clinical Fellowship in Radiation Oncology (treatment of cancer with radiotherapy) in Vancouver, Canada. Whilst in Canada he completed several research projects focused on technical radiotherapy, including the comparisons of VMAT with conventional IMRT therapy and RapidArc in several disease sites such as breast, prostate and high-grade glioma.

Dr Shaffer treats patients throughout the UK. Consultations can be arranged by email for the following locations:

  • GenesisCare Bristol
  • GenesisCare Southampton
  • GenesisCare Windsor
  • GenesisCare Elstree
  • GenesisCare Guildford
  • GenesisCare Birmingham
  • GenesisCare Maidstone
  • GenesisCare Milton Keynes
  • GenesisCare Cambridge
  • GenesisCare Chelmsford
  • GenesisCare Nottingham
  • GenesisCare London Cromwell Hospital
  • GenesisCare Oxford
  • GenesisCare Portsmouth

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