Ashwagandha relieves knee pain

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is an Ayurvedic medicine used to treat various ailments. In a study published in the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, the root and leaf extracts of Ashwagandha have been found to relieve knee pain and discomfort caused by osteoarthritis.

• Pain due to osteoarthritis is commonly treated with drug medications, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), opioids and non-opioid analgesics, and intra-articular steroids.
• However, these often cause severe gastrointestinal side effects, while some are ineffective.
• Meanwhile, Ashwagandha is known to contain analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and chondroprotective properties.
• So, researchers from Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in Hyderabad, India evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of the root and leaf extracts of Ashwagandha in patients with knee joint pain and discomfort.
• For the study, they recruited 60 patients with knee joint pain and discomfort.
• The participants were randomly divided into three groups: a control group and two treatment groups.
• The treatment group received either 125 milligrams (mg) of Ashwagandha extract or 250 mg of Ashwagandha extract, while the control group received placebo capsules.
• These were given twice a day for 12 weeks.
• Results revealed that the Ashwagandha treatment significantly reduced pain, stiffness, and disability.
• The effects were dose-dependent.
• The 250 mg of Ashwagandha extract caused the earliest effect at four weeks.
• The Ashwagandha treatment did not cause any side effect.

In conclusion, both doses of Ashwagandha extract caused significant reductions in pain, stiffness, and disability of patients in a dose-dependent manner without causing any side effect.

Read the full text of the study at this link.

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Journal Reference:

Ramakanth GSH, Uday Kumar C, Kishan PV, Usharani P. A RANDOMIZED, DOUBLE BLIND PLACEBO CONTROLLED STUDY OF EFFICACY AND TOLERABILITY OF WITHANIA SOMNIFERA EXTRACTS IN KNEE JOINT PAIN. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine. 2016; 7(3)L 151-157. DOI: 10.1016/j.jaim.2016.05.003