Therapeutic effectiveness of oral homeopathic remedy in management of knee osteoarthritis via attenuation of oxidative and inflammatory pathway

Abstract

Background Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common prevalent condition that affects joints and causes erosion of the cartilage. Many conventional medications show evidence of short-term effectiveness. However, they are associated with numerous adverse effects. Objective As homeopathy is a complementary modality, thus this study aimed to explore the therapeutic effectiveness of homeopathic remedies in management of knee OA that proved efficiency in management of knee OA without health hazards. Patients and methods Thirty cases (25 females, five males) were complaining of bilateral grade 2 or 3 knee OA were included in the study. Each patient was taken as her/his control. One milliliter of a diluted complex of four homeopathic remedies (Arnica Montana, Ledum Palustre, Rhus Tox, and Ruta Graveolens) was taken orally by each patient for 6 weeks in ascending potency. Results All clinical parameters showed significant improvement after the end of therapy. Visual analog scale, number of tender points, tenderness score (TS), angle of knee flexion, heel to hip distance Western Ontario and McMaster universities osteoarthritis index score and Lequesne index (P≤0.05). In addition, there was significant improvement in laboratory markers as significant increase in serum enkephalin and interleukin-4 and decreasing in erythrocyte sedimentation rate (P≤0.05). Conclusion The study showed efficiency of four homeopathic remedies in decreasing pain, tenderness, improving knee flexion and quality of life supported with improvement in serum levels of encephalin, interleukin-4 and erythrocyte sedimentation rate in grade 2 or 3 OA patients.