Topical Arnica Gel, The Potent Herbal Product Which Alleviates Symptoms and Treatment of Osteoarthritis

By Kyle J. Norton, Master of Nutrition

Herbal Arnica may have a therapeutic potential in ameliorating the symptoms and treatment of osteoarthritis, some scientist suggested.

The results of this investigation were carried out in form of studies by some respectable institutes such as Rheumatology Clinic Sweden, and Valens Clinic for Rheumatism published online medical literature.

Arthritis is a chronic condition characterized by severe inflammatory pain and stiffness of the joints. affecting over 1.3 million Americans and as much as 1% of the worldwide population, according to statistics. The disease induced an average direct cost about $2,800 per patient annually.

Osteoarthritis is a type of degenerative joint disease or “wear and tear” arthritis, affecting the joint commonly.

The exact causes of osteoarthritis are unknown. Researchers do not understand why,  people with the same health and risk conditions, some are susceptible to the onset of the disease while others do not.

However, researchers do know that certain risk factors are associated to the early onset of the disease, including age, family history, gender, injured from the past that did not heal properly, such as torn cartilage, dislocated joints, ligament injuries, occupations and overweight.

Some scientists also suggested that mutation of genes involved develop cartilage are also having a strong implication in inducing early onset of the disease.

Dr.Mercedes Fernández-Moreno, the lead authors in the expression of Genetics in Osteoarthritis, wrote, "The genetic bases of this disease do not follow the typical patterns of Mendelian inheritance and probably they are related to alterations in multiple genes. The identification of a high number of candidate genes to confer susceptibility to the development of the osteoarthritis shows the complex nature of this disease".

Arnica is a herbaceous species, genus perennial, belongings to the family Asteraceae, native to Europe and Asia, used in herbal medicine for centuries to treat strains, sprains, and bruises.
Wound healing is a process of repairing after the damage of skin, tissues, organs, etc.

The ingredients
Helenalin, chamissonolid, Sesquiterpene lactone, lignans of the furofuran, dibenzylbutyrolactone, dibenzylbutyrolactol types, pinoresinol, epipinoresinol, phillygenin, matairesinol, nortrachelogenin, and nortracheloside, six dibenzylbutyrolactol derivatives.

In the randomized, double-blind study to compare the effective of topical preparation of arnica(50 g tincture/100 g, DER 1:20), and  ibuprofen (5%) and  in 204 patients, to ascertain differences in pain relief and hand function after 21 days' treatment, scientists showed that topical Arnica exerts a similar effect as of ibuprofen (5%) in pain and hand function improvements, or in any secondary endpoints.

There were no differences between the two groups in pain relief and improvement of hand stiffness.

However, compared to 2 groups, researchers found that adverse effects were reported by six patients (6.1%) on ibuprofen and by five patients (4.8%) on arnica.

These result suggested that Arnica topical preparation is compatible with those of ibuprofen for the treatment of patients with osteoarthritis, particularly in the patients with hand's osteoarthritis.

Further analysis of the safety and efficacy of an Arnica montana fresh plant gel, applied twice daily, in 26 men and 53 women with mild to moderate osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee, after 3 and weeks of application, researchers indicated that
* All groups (treatment with 3 and 6 weeks) display a significant improvement of scores on the pain, stiffness, and function subscales.

* The topical application also shows significant reductions at these time points.

* Total scores on the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) are decreased substantially in all patients.

* According to the returned questionnaire, 69 patients (87%) rate the tolerability of the topical gel as "good" or "fairly good,"

However, the overall local adverse-event rate is 7.6% included only one allergic reaction.

Although the topical gel may be effective, it has certain limitations as only patients with mild to moderate OA of the knee were included in the study.

The above differentiation of topical Arnica gel was supported by the publication lead by the Dr. Morris M, in the investigation of the efficacy of a homeopathic complex included Arnica montana, Bryonia alba, Causticum, Kalmia latifolia, Rhus Toxicodendron, and Calcarea fluorica. in combination with physiotherapy in treating chronic lower back pain (CLBP) due to OA.

In a 6-wk, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study took place in a private physiotherapy practice in Gauteng, South Africa of a total of 30 males and females, aged 45-75 y, who were receiving physiotherapy treatment for OA of the lumbar spine from a therapist in private practice, according to the observation of the visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain. Secondary outcome measures, complex application showed a incredible effectiveness in reduced pain, promoted daily functioning, and range of motion (ROM) of the lumbar spine in compared to placebo.

After taking into account of other co and confounders, Dr. Morris M, the lead scientist said, "homeopathic complex, together with physiotherapy, can significantly improve symptoms associated with CLBP due to OA" and "(but) the study was too small to be conclusive".

Taken together, topical Arnica gel with certain concentration may be considered a functional herb for alleviated symptoms and treatment of osteoarthritis.

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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blog, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) Choosing between NSAID and arnica for topical treatment of hand osteoarthritis in a randomised, double-blind study by Widrig R1, Suter A, Saller R, Melzer J.(PubMed)
(2) Arnica montana gel in osteoarthritis of the knee: an open, multicenter clinical trial by Knuesel O1, Weber M, Suter A.(PubMed)
(3) Physiotherapy and a Homeopathic Complex for Chronic Low-back Pain Due to Osteoarthritis: A Randomized, Controlled Pilot Study by Morris M, Pellow J, Solomon EM, Tsele-Tebakang T.(PubMed)
(4) Genetics in Osteoarthritis by Mercedes Fernández-Moreno, Ignacio Rego, Vanessa Carreira-Garcia, and Francisco J Blanco. (PMC)