Abstract
Background and aims: Osteoarthritis is one of the most common arthritis in elderly. No confirmed cure is found for it and current treatments have only analgesic effect. In this study, it was evaluated to compare the effect of topical application of Eugenia caryophylata extract and topical diclofenac and placebo in primary knee osteoarthritis.
Methods: This randomized double-blind clinical trial study was carried out upon 105 patients with primary knee osteoarthritis. Patients were selected randomly and divided into 3 groups. The first group was given three times 1 mg diclofenac 1% of one mg, the second group was given 1mg topical caryophylata 10% of 1 mg three times daily and third group was given 1 mg placebo 1 mg three times daily. For three groups, WOMAC questionnaire (overall pain, knee pain, morning stiffness, stiffness during day, physical activity) were completed pretreatment, one week and three and four weeks post-treatment. The data were analyzed by SPSS through ANOVA and chi-square tests.
Results: In this study, the data collected from 105 individuals were analyzed in 3 groups. The findings indicated that there is a significant decrease in overall pain (P=0.005), stiffness during day (P=0.001), morning stiffness (P=0.001) and knee pain (P=0.017) and physical activity (P=0.001) in four weeks after the initiation of treatment in three groups of topical Eugenia caryophylata, diclofenac and placebo (P<0.001). In all the three groups, mean overall score of WOMAC questionnaire was significantly decreased (P<0.001). No side effect related to the intake of medication in 3 groups was observed.
Conclusion: Extract of Eugenia caryophylata is effective in decreasing knee pain, morning stiffness, and stiffness during day and improvement of physical activity in patients with knee osteoarthritis and it can be used alongside of chemical medication to reduce symptoms of patients in knee osteoarthritis.