There’s some encouraging news for people living with painful joints. A recent study has found that a common anti-inflammatory drug called colchicine might lower the chances of needing knee or hip replacement surgery. This could be a big step forward in helping people with osteoarthritis, a condition that affects millions and often leads to joint damage and pain.
Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis. It usually affects the knees, hips, hands, or spine and happens when the protective cartilage between bones wears down over time. This can cause joints to feel stiff, swollen, and sore, making everyday tasks harder.
Age is the biggest risk factor, but previous injuries, extra body weight, and long-term wear and tear can also make the condition worse.
Although there is no cure, many people take pain relievers, do physical therapy, or eventually need surgery when their joints get too damaged. But scientists are now exploring whether reducing inflammation in the joints might slow down how quickly osteoarthritis gets worse—and possibly prevent surgery altogether.
This is where colchicine comes in. Colchicine is a drug that has been safely used for decades to treat gout, another condition caused by inflammation.
It works by calming down the immune system’s response and preventing too much scarring in tissues. Because it’s already widely used and known to be safe for long-term use, researchers wondered if it might also help with osteoarthritis.
To find out, a team of scientists from the Netherlands and Australia studied more than 5,500 adults between the ages of 35 and 82. These participants were from 43 medical centers in the two countries.
Half of them took a low daily dose of colchicine (0.5 mg), while the other half received a placebo—a pill with no medicine in it. Over the course of 29 months, the researchers tracked how many people in each group ended up needing a knee or hip replacement.
The results showed that colchicine may help. Among the people who took the drug, only 2.5% needed joint replacement surgery, compared to 3.5% in the placebo group.
While that might sound like a small difference, it means that fewer people progressed to the point of needing major surgery. Interestingly, the effect seemed stronger in men, but the researchers say more studies are needed to understand how it works for women.
This finding supports the idea that inflammation plays an important role in osteoarthritis. If colchicine can reduce that inflammation, it might slow down joint damage and give people more time before they need surgery—or help them avoid it altogether.
Because colchicine has been used safely for other conditions, it’s a strong candidate for future osteoarthritis treatment. However, doctors caution that more research is needed before it can be widely recommended. Scientists need to test how it works for different people, how long it should be taken, and what side effects might appear over time.
For now, people with joint pain should continue following their doctor’s advice. That includes staying physically active, eating healthy, and keeping a healthy weight, which can all help protect the joints. While colchicine may become a new tool in the fight against osteoarthritis, it’s still important to focus on everyday habits that support joint health.
Other research is also being done on new ways to treat joint pain. Some scientists are testing devices that relieve pain without drugs. Others are studying how certain medications might affect inflammation or muscle pain, and whether aspirin could help people recover from broken bones more safely.
This latest study on colchicine was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. If future research confirms the findings, a simple pill could offer a safer, easier option for people living with joint pain—possibly helping them delay or avoid surgery altogether.
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