Effect of adding garlic therapy to a comprehensive rehabilitation program on control of clinical manifestations and quality of life of knee osteoarthritis

Abstract EN

Objective : To compare the effect of comprehensive rehabilitation program versus combined garlic therapy and comprehensive rehabilitation program in controlling the clinical manifestations and quality of life in patients with knee osteoarthritis Methodology : This was a randomized clinical trial in an outpatient setting.

Participants were 43 patients with knee osteoarthritis randomized to group I (comprehensive rehabilitation) (n = 15) and group II (combined garlic therapy and comprehensive rehabilitation) (n = 28).

All patients had diet modification, electrotherapy, resistive and flexibility exercises for legs 3 times weekly for 8 weeks.

Group II received garlic capsules 900 mg daily with breakfast for 8 weeks.

Evaluation was performed using knee pain with visual analogue scale (VAS), Stanford health assessment questionnaire (HAQ), one repetition maximum (1RM) for quadriceps, body mass index (BMI), synovial fluid level of interleukin1-β interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α and selenium level.

Results : BMI significantly decreased in both groups (p ‹ .05) without significant difference between groups.

Knee pain significantly decreased in group II mean ± standard deviation (-51.77 ± 11.17 %) more than in group I (-22.92 ± 5.31 %) (p = .00001).

1 RM significantly increased in group II (105.10 ± 65.90 %) more than in group I (64.78 ± 54.77 %) (p = .01986).

Percent change of HAQ was more in group II (-36.56 ± 12.2) than in group I (-16.42 ± 14.10) (p = .00004).

Synovial selenium significantly increased only in group II (213.19 ± 28.26 %) (p = .00001).

Synovial inflammatory mediators significantly reduced only in group II (interleukin1β (- 89.67 % ± 3.73) (p = .00001), interleukin 6 (-92.98 % ± 5.02) (p = .00001), tumor necrosis factor α (-83.20 % ± 8.52) (p = .00001).

Conclusions : Garlic improves rehabilitation outcome of knee osteoarthritis.