ACR Meeting Abstracts

ACR Meeting Abstracts

Abstract Number: 311

Comparative Effectiveness of Ayurveda and Conventional Care in Knee Osteoarthritis – a Randomized Controlled Trial

Christian Kessler1,2, Kartar Dhiman3, Abhimanyu Kumar4, Thomas Ostermann5, Shivenarain Gupta6,7, Antonio Morandi8, Martin Mittwede7,9, Elmar Stapelfeldt2, Michaela Spoo2, Katja Icke1, Andreas Michalsen1,2 and Claudia Witt1,10, 1Institute for Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité University Medical Center, Berlin, Germany, 2Department for Complementary Medicine, Immanuel Hospital Berlin, Berlin, Germany, 3Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), New Delhi, India, New Delhi, India, 4All India Institute of Ayurveda, New Delhi, India, 5Department of Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Witten Herdeckey, Witten, Germany, 6Department of Kaya Cikitsa, J.S. Ayurveda College & P.D. Patel Ayurveda Hospital, Nadiad, India, 7European Academy of Ayurveda, Birstein, Germany, 8Ayurvedic Point, School of Ayurvedic Medicine, Milan, Italy, 9Department of Theology and Religious Sciences, University of Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany, 10Institute of Complementary and Integrative Medicine, University Hospital and University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland

Meeting: 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting

Date of first publication: September 28, 2016

Keywords: , , ,

Session Information

Date: Sunday, November 13, 2016

Title: Osteoarthritis – Clinical Aspects - Poster I

Session Type: ACR Poster Session A

Session Time: 9:00AM-11:00AM

Background/Purpose:  Ayurveda is used to treat knee osteoarthritis (OA) despite limited evidence. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of complex multimodality Ayurvedic treatment in comparison to conventional care in OA knee patients.

Methods:  Patients with OA of the knee according to ACR criteria were included in a multicenter randomized, controlled trial and treated in 2 hospital outpatient clinics and 2 private outpatient clinics with a total of 5 physicians and 20 therapists participating. Patients received either Ayurvedic treatment (n=77) or conventional care (n=74) with 15 treatments over 12 weeks. Primary outcome was the change on the Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis (WOMAC) Index after 12 weeks. Secondary outcomes included the WOMAC subscales, a pain disability index, numeric rating scales for pain and sleep quality, a pain experience scale, a quality-of-life index, a profile of mood index, rescue medication use, and safety issues.

Results: A total of 151 patients (Ayurveda n=77, conventional care n=74) were included. Changes of the WOMAC Index from baseline to 12 weeks were more pronounced in the Ayurveda group (mean difference 61.1 [95% CI 52.4;69.6]) than in the conventional group (32.0 [95% CI 21.4;42.6]) resulting in a significant difference between groups (p<0.001) and a clinically relevant effect size (Cohen’s d 0.68 [95% CI 0.35;1.00]). Similar tendencies were observed for all secondary outcomes at week 12. Effects were sustainable at follow-ups after 6 and 12 month.

Conclusion:  The results suggest that a complex Ayurvedic treatment might be clinically superior to a complex non-surgical conventional intervention in the treatment of OA of the knee.

Disclosure: C. Kessler, None; K. Dhiman, None; A. Kumar, None; T. Ostermann, None; S. Gupta, None; A. Morandi, None; M. Mittwede, None; E. Stapelfeldt, None; M. Spoo, None; K. Icke, None; A. Michalsen, None; C. Witt, None.

To cite this abstract in AMA style:

Kessler C, Dhiman K, Kumar A, Ostermann T, Gupta S, Morandi A, Mittwede M, Stapelfeldt E, Spoo M, Icke K, Michalsen A, Witt C. Comparative Effectiveness of Ayurveda and Conventional Care in Knee Osteoarthritis – a Randomized Controlled Trial [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2016; 68 (suppl 10). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/comparative-effectiveness-of-ayurveda-and-conventional-care-in-knee-osteoarthritis-a-randomized-controlled-trial/. Accessed .

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