Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis and affects millions of people around the world. It usually develops slowly over many years and often causes pain, stiffness, and swelling in the knees and hips.
As the condition gets worse, simple activities such as walking, climbing stairs, or getting out of a chair can become difficult.
In healthy joints, the ends of the bones are covered by smooth cartilage that acts like a cushion. This allows the bones to move easily without rubbing together. Over time, the cartilage can wear away, causing the bones to rub against each other and leading to pain and reduced movement.
Older age is one of the biggest risk factors for osteoarthritis. Previous joint injuries, heavy physical work, sports injuries, excess body weight, and some inherited factors can also increase the risk.
Scientists now believe that low levels of ongoing inflammation inside the joint may also speed up the damage.
Because inflammation may play an important role, researchers have been looking for medicines that can reduce it. One drug that has attracted attention is colchicine. This medicine has been used safely for many years to treat gout, a painful form of arthritis caused by crystal buildup in the joints. It works by calming the body’s inflammatory response.
Researchers wanted to know whether colchicine could also slow the damage caused by osteoarthritis. If it reduces inflammation inside the joints, it might help protect cartilage and delay the need for joint replacement surgery.
The study was carried out by researchers in the Netherlands and involved more than 5,500 adults aged between 35 and 82 years. Participants were treated at 43 medical centers in Australia and the Netherlands. The findings were published in the medical journal Annals of Internal Medicine.
The volunteers were followed for about 29 months, or a little over two years. Half of the participants took a low dose of colchicine, 0.5 milligrams each day, while the other half received a placebo, a pill with no active medicine. Using a placebo allowed the researchers to compare the two groups fairly.
During the study, the researchers recorded how many people eventually needed knee or hip replacement surgery because of severe osteoarthritis. These operations are usually recommended only when pain becomes severe and other treatments no longer provide enough relief.
By the end of the study, about 2.5% of people taking colchicine needed joint replacement surgery. In comparison, about 3.5% of those taking the placebo required surgery. Although the difference was modest, it suggests that colchicine may slow the progression of osteoarthritis in some people and delay major surgery.
The researchers also found that the benefit appeared to be greater in men than in women. However, the study was not designed to fully examine differences between men and women, so more research is needed before any firm conclusions can be made.
Colchicine is already a well-known medicine, and doctors understand its usual dose and possible side effects. Even so, people should not start taking it without medical advice because it is not suitable for everyone and can interact with other medicines.
For now, doctors still recommend staying physically active, maintaining a healthy weight, strengthening the muscles around affected joints, and using physical therapy when needed to manage osteoarthritis.
If future studies confirm these findings, colchicine could become a simple, affordable treatment to help people protect their joints, stay active longer, and delay the need for knee or hip replacement surgery.
If you care about pain, please read studies about vitamin K deficiency linked to hip fractures in old people, and these vitamins could help reduce bone fracture risk.
For more health information, please see recent studies that Krill oil could improve muscle health in older people, and eating yogurt linked to lower frailty in older people.
Copyright © 2026 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
