Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The Effect of Low-Carbohydrate and Low-Fat Diets on Pain in Individuals with Knee Osteoarthritis.
Osteoarthritis is the most prominent form of arthritis, affecting approximately 15% of the population in the United States. Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) has become one of the leading causes of disability in older adults. Besides knee replacement, there are no curative treatments for KOA, so persistent pain is commonly treated with opioids, acetaminophen, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. However, these drugs have many unpleasant side effects, so there is a need for alternative forms of pain management. We sought to test the efficacy of a dietary intervention to reduce KOA. ⋯ We present evidence suggesting that oxidative stress may be related to functional pain, and lowering it through our LCD intervention could provide relief from pain and be an opioid alternative.