What if the end to your chronic knee pain was a treatment as easy as an X-ray?

You might jump for joy — though perhaps you wouldn’t jump, exactly.

Korean researchers recently announced early results from a study that shows low-dose radiation therapy eased knee pain and helped relieve stiffness in people with mild to moderate osteoarthritis.

The radiation treatment, a tiny fraction of that used for cancer patients, could serve as a middle ground between painkillers and joint surgery.

Osteoarthritis is the most common arthritis. It targets the knees and hips, developing as the cartilage that cushions bone ends wears away. Standard treatment includes lifestyle changes and over-the-counter pain medicines, with surgery entering the picture as symptoms grow severe.

Low-dose radiation therapy has been used in Europe to treat joint pain for years and was used in the U.S. until the 1980s, when other treatments emerged. But it is not well-known nor well-studied.

The Korean study involved 114 people with osteoarthritis. They were randomly assigned to one of three groups: The first got six teensy doses of radiation, the second received six low doses and a control group had six placebo treatments.

None of the participants knew which group they were in. Once treatment ended, about 57% of those who had the low dose of radiation reported less pain and more mobility, as did about 31% of the placebo group.

However, four months later, 70% of those who received the low doses of radiation reported lasting results. So did 42% of those in the placebo treatment group.

Next steps include a follow-up after 12 months to better understand how well the effects last.