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Fu's Subcutaneous Needling for Knee Osteoarthritis Pain
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Nettle sting for chronic knee pain: a randomised controlled pilot study.

Colin Randall1, Andy Dickens, Adrian White

  • 1Primary Care Research Group, Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, United Kingdom. colin.randall@pms.ac.uk

Complementary Therapies in Medicine
|June 3, 2008
PubMed
Summary

Nettle sting therapy is a feasible and acceptable non-pharmacological treatment for chronic knee pain. Further research is warranted to confirm the effectiveness of this natural intervention.

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Area of Science:

  • Pain Management
  • Complementary and Alternative Medicine
  • Rheumatology

Background:

  • Non-pharmacological interventions for chronic knee pain are increasingly sought by patients and recommended in treatment guidelines.
  • Nettle sting (Urtica dioica) has a long history of use for pain relief.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the feasibility of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) for nettle sting in chronic knee pain.
  • To evaluate patient and general practitioner (GP) acceptability of the intervention and research methods.
  • To determine optimal recruitment and outcome measurement strategies for future studies.

Main Methods:

  • A patient-blinded pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted in two UK primary care practices.
  • Participants (55-80 years) with chronic knee pain (Osteoarthritis [OA] knee) were randomized to Urtica dioica or placebo (Urtica galeopsifolia) for one week.

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  • Recruitment strategies included database searches based on age, analgesic use, and Read codes. The WOMAC pain subscale was the primary outcome measure.

    • Main Results:

    • 42 out of 45 eligible patients were recruited, with targeted invitations proving most efficient.
    • Both nettle sting and placebo groups showed a mean reduction in WOMAC pain scores (1.7 and 1.6, respectively).
    • All GPs and approached patients were willing to participate. Patients found the 'natural' nettle sting acceptable and a minor irritation.

    Conclusions:

    • Nettle sting research is acceptable to patients and GPs.
    • The treatment is perceived as a minor irritation, supporting its feasibility.
    • Larger, rigorous studies are justified to establish the efficacy of nettle sting for chronic knee pain.