Patients and methods
Rheumatic, Osteoarthritis, Knee Injury, knee joints
OSTEOARTHRITIS
Patients presenting with OA of the hand/finger and knee joints were included. After randomization (every joint region was randomized separately) the following protocols were applied: (a) standard arm: total dose 3.0 Gy, single fractions of 0.5 Gy twice a week; (b) experimental arm: total dose 0.3 Gy, single fractions of 0.05 Gy twice a week. The dosage was blinded for the patients. For evaluation the scores after 1‑year visual analog scale (VAS), Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score–Short Form (KOOS-PS), Short Form Score for the Assessment and Quantification of Chronic Rheumatic Affections of the Hands (SF-SACRAH) and 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) were used (for further details: see [