Efficacy of in relieving pain symptoms of knee osteoarthritis patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials.

OBJECTIVE

Osteoarthritis (OA), particularly knee OA, affects 24% of adults and is a significant cause of disability. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly used but have many adverse effects. Antioxidant and anti-iflammatory properties of might decrease pain thus improving joint function.

METHODS

This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on efficacy for knee OA. We reported mean differences (MD) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for continuous outcomes and evaluated Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) total score over 4 to 6 weeks for treatment effects.

RESULTS

Ten RCTs with 786 patients were included. significantly improved VAS for pain than placebo (MD 18.25, 95% CI 7.79 to 28.72, p=0.0006). It was not inferior to NSAIDs in WOMAC total score improvement (MD -11.99, 95% CI -39.21 to 15.23, p=0.39). Both dosages (<1,000 and ≥1,000 mg/day) of demonstrated similar improvement in VAS for pain compared to placebo (MD 27.02, 95% CI 1.45 to 52.60, p=0.04; MD 21.48, 95% CI 1.78 to 41.18, p=0.03).

CONCLUSION

benefits knee OA pain and function, being more effective than placebo and comparable to NSAIDs. Despite positive results, limitation and heterogeneity of the studies necessitates further research to explore optimal dosages and administration methods of as therapeutic option for knee OA.