Clinical Evaluation of Upanaha with Vachadi Churna in the Management of Osteoarthritis Knee

Abstract

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic degenerative joint disease and is the commonest form of arthritis. It is the fourth leading cause of disability worldwide. Most of this disability burden is attributable to the involvement of the hips or the knee. Objectives: To assess the clinical efficacy of Upanaha with Vachadi Churna in the management of OA knee concerning pain and stiffness of joints. Materials and methods: It was an open-label, multicentric, single-arm, prospective, clinical study. Sixty subjects of primary OA knee aged between 35 years and 65 years fulfilling the diagnostic criteria of American College of Rheumatology (ACR) for OA knee and showing radiological changes of OA knee were enrolled in the study. Upanaha with Vachadi Churna was done over the affected knee for 14 days. The primary outcome was to see any change in pain and stiffness of joints which was assessed on the visual analog scale (VAS) and Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC). The assessment was done on the 7th and 14th day and 1 week after completion of therapy, i.e., 21st day. Results: The mean pain score as assessed by VAS, reduced significantly from 64.48 at baseline to 31.95 at the end of the treatment period of 14 days (p value < 0.001). The mean stiffness score assessed on VAS also reduced significantly from 39.68 at baseline to 16.0 after 14 days (p value < 0.001). Significant change in total WOMAC score was also observed, which reduced from mean baseline score of 48.02 to 26.98 till the end of the intervention period of 14 days (p value < 0.001). Significant improvement in cardinal features of osteoarthritis was also observed after completion of therapy. Conclusion: This study substantiates the efficacy of Upanaha with Vachadi Churna in the management of OA knee.