Abstract
Objectives: Saussurea lappa oil is an herbal remedy used in traditional medicine for joint pain. In this study, S. lappa oil was specifically tested as a topical treatment for knee osteoarthritis (OA).
Design: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Setting(s): Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Shohada Hospital.
Participants: Older adult patients.
Methods: Older adult patients hospitalized with knee osteoarthritis were randomly assigned to two trial arms. For 4 weeks, participants applied either S. lappa oil or placebo (paraffin oil) topically twice daily. Knee pain was assessed using the visual analogue scale (VAS), and physical function was evaluated using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and knee flexion angle at baseline and at weeks 2 and 4.
Outcome Measures: Satisfaction of older adults with hospital services.
Results: Based on the results, the S. lappa group demonstrated significant improvements in overall pain and physical function, with reductions in the global and subscale WOMAC scores, while the placebo group showed no improvement in most outcomes, except for a significant decrease in stiffness. Between-group analyses favored S. lappa over placebo, particularly for reducing global pain and physical function. Similarly, VAS pain scores substantially decreased in the S. lappa group, with no marked change in the control group.
Conclusions: S. lappa revealed short-term improvements in pain and functional mobility (notably VAS, WOMAC, and the 8-m walk at 2 weeks) and was associated with reduced analgesic use and no reported adverse events. Nonetheless, the benefits were not consistently statistically significant versus the placebo and the study’s limited sample size and follow-up constrain confidence, indicating the need for larger, longer, and more rigorous trials to confirm its efficacy and safety.