Insights & Discussion
Ginger, through various methods, exhibits promising pain reduction effects for conditions such as dysmenorrhea, muscle soreness, osteoarthritis, low back pain, and migraines.
The review incorporates a vast range of randomized controlled trials conducted over the past decade, where ginger was mainly used for pain relief in distinct conditions. The conditions included dysmenorrhea, delayed onset muscle soreness, osteoarthritis, chronic low back pain, and migraines. The variety of methods used included oral administration, topical application, and aromatic oil massages.
In the analysed trials, for dysmenorrhea and muscle soreness, the considered studies suggested a promising effect after both oral and topical administration of ginger. As for osteoarthritis, most trials demonstrated pain reduction following topical and oral use of ginger, one focused on the beneficial effects of ginger in relieving migraine pain. Last but not least, a trial involving massages with aromatic ginger oil highlighted its potential in reducing chronic low back pain.
Discover Related Insights
Acupuncture has a clinically relevant effect on chronic pain that persists over time. Referral for acupuncture treatment is a reasonable option for chronic pain patients.
2017 The Journal of Pain Acupuncture for Chronic Pain: Update of an Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis Vickers, Andrew J. et al.
Systematic Review Headache & Migraine Osteoarthritis Shoulder Pain
We included randomized trials of acupuncture needling versus either sham acupuncture or no acupuncture control for nonspecific musculoskeletal pain, osteoarthritis, chronic headache, or shoulder pain. Trials were only included if allocation concealment was unambiguously determined to be adequate. Raw data were obtained from study authors and entered into an individual patient data meta-analysis. The main outcome measures were pain and function. An additional 13 trials were identified, with data received for a total of 20,827 patients from 39 trials. Acupuncture was superior to sham as well as no acupuncture control for each pain condition (all P < .001) with differences between groups close to .5 SDs compared with no acupuncture control and close to .2 SDs compared with sham. We also found clear evidence that the effects of acupuncture persist over time with only a small decrease, approximately 15%, in treatment effect at 1 year.
Acupuncture is effective for the treatment of chronic musculoskeletal, headache, and osteoarthritis pain. Treatment effects of acupuncture persist over time and cannot be explained solely in terms of placebo effects. Referral for a course of acupuncture treatment is a reasonable option for a patient with chronic pain.