Ayurvedic drugs may be safer, and just as effective, as glucosamine and celecoxib in treating patients with knee osteoarthritis, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in San Francisco, California.

Osteoarthritis is the most common joint disease affecting middle-age and older people. It is characterized by progressive damage to the joint cartilage - the slippery material at the end of long bones - and causes changes in the structures around the joint. These changes can include fluid accumulation, bony overgrowth, and loosening and weakness of muscles and tendons, all of which may limit movement and cause pain and swelling. Osteoarthritis is also sometimes called degenerative joint disease.

Most commonly affected are the weight-bearing joints: the knees, hips and spine. Osteoarthritis in the knee and hip areas can generate chronic pain or discomfort during standing or walking. Deterioration of disks between spine vertebrae can cause back and neck stiffness and pain.

Ayurvedic (which, when translated, means “science of life”) therapy is rooted in ancient Indian civilization and is considered to be the precursor to many other forms of Asian medicine. It is practiced popularly in India to treat several chronic disorders.

Researchers recently spent five years studying the safety and effectiveness of ayurvedic herbal drugs, in comparison to glucosamine and celecoxib, two commonly used treatments for OA. In this randomized, double-blind study, researchers followed 440 with painful knee OA. After dividing patients into one of four groups (two groups were placed on different types of ayurvedic therapy, one group was placed on glucosamine, and one group on celecoxib), researchers compared the effectiveness and safety of each therapy over a 24-week period by looking at active pain, difficulty and function, and side effects in the patients. For the Ayurvedic medicines, two formulations [3/4 plants (T.Cordifolia- Z.officinale based) extracts], namely SG’C & SG’CG, were selected and standardized. Glucosamine sulfate (GLU, 2 gm daily) and Celecoxib (CXB, 200 mg daily) were used for the other two groups in the study.

Twenty-eight percent of the patients withdrew from the study; withdrawals were equally spread among the four groups. Researchers found that none of the groups experienced serious side effects – those taking ayurvedic therapy showed even fewer side effects overall. The results showed ayurvedic treatments to be relatively safe and as effective as glucosamine and Celecoxib for improving pain and function in patients with OA.

Osteoarthritis is a difficult to treat disorder that has very few therapeutic options in modern medicine, explains Arvind Chopra, MD; Center For Rheumatic Diseases, Maharashtra, India, and lead investigator in the study. “This scientifically designed drug trial demonstrates the therapeutic usefulness of two standardized Ayurvedic derived purely herbal formulations in the symptomatic treatment of OA [in the] knees over 24-week period. The Ayurvedic drugs were equivalent to Glucosamine and Celecoxib, which are popularly used globally to treat OA. Documented historical use & our data confirm a potentially superior safety of Ayurvedic medicine,” says Dr. Chopra (Newswise).