Is Turmeric An Herbal Pain Reliever?

ACUTE AND CHRONIC NEUROPATHIC PAIN

Animal

62.5-500 micrograms curcumin via spinal injection prior to pain test

Question: How can curcumin help relieve neuropathic pain?

Answer:

• Curcumin significantly reduced acute pain by 35-38% and chronic pain by up to 49%. This was measured by the number of flinches in pain testing for one hour after injecting curcumin. ^(iv.19)
• Acute pain relief was the same for all curcumin doses, but chronic pain relief was dose-dependent (with higher doses producing greater relief). ^(iv.19)
• There were no other effects of curcumin on behavior. ^(iv.19)
• At the cellular level, curcumin suppressed inflammatory cytokine proteins. ^(iv.19)

BILIARY DYSKINESIA

(with right upper abdominal pain)

Clinical trial

76 patients

(39 patients treated and 37 given placebo)

1 capsule three times daily for 3 weeks of Cholagogum F Nattermann, a formula that contains turmeric and celandine

Question: Can turmeric help relieve pain from biliary dyskinesia?

Answer: The herbal turmeric formula reduced both severity and frequency of painful episodes (both cramping and dull pain). ^(iv.145)

CANCEROUS LESIONS

Clinical study

62 patients

Oral turmeric extract and curcumin-containing lotion

Question: Can turmeric and curcumin help relieve pain from cancerous lesions?

Answer: Oral turmeric and topical curcumin showed the following effects on people with sores from cancer, with little adverse side effects:

• 10% of patients reported pain relief and their sores got smaller. ^(iv.146)
• 90% reported less smell from the lesions and most had less itching as well. ^(iv.146)
• One patient had an adverse reaction. ^(iv.146)

CANCEROUS LESIONS

(skin and mucous membranes)

Clinical study

62 patients

Ointment containing 0.5% curcumin applied 3 times a day for 4 weeks.

Question: Can topical curcumin help treat cancer lesions?

Answer: Topical curcumin showed the following benefits for patients with cancer:

• 50% of patients in this open clinical trial testing topical curcumin reported reduced pain associated with cancerous lesions. ^(iv.146)
• 90% had less lesion smell. ^(iv.146)
• 70% reported drier sores. ^(iv.146)

CHRONIC ANTERIOR UVEITIS

Clinical study

53 patients

1075 mg/day of curcumin in 3 divided doses for 12 weeks

Question: Can curcumin supplements relieve pain from uveitis?

Answer: Curcumin relieved multiple symptoms of this chronic inflammatory eye disease, including pain and vision loss. Depending on the symptom, curcumin was successful in 86-100% of the 32 patients who completed the study. ^(iv.147)

DIABETIC NEUROPATHY

Animal

15-60 mg of curcumin per kg of body weight for 4 weeks

Question: How can curcumin relieve pain from diabetic neuropathy?

Answer:

• Daily injections of curcumin significantly increased the pain threshold in diabetic rats compared to untreated diabetic rats. ^(iv.27)
• Daily curcumin also reversed increases in the inflammatory TNF-α protein. This is significant because TNF-α is associated with more severe pain in human patients with diabetic neuropathy. ^{(iv.27, 148)}

DYSPEPSIA

(indigestion with abdominal pain)

Randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial

106 patients

2 g/day of turmeric for 7 days

Question: Can turmeric supplements relieve pain from indigestion?

Answer:

• Of the 38 patients who were given turmeric in this clinical trial, 87% showed improvement of all dyspepsia symptoms, including pain. ^(iv.146)
• These results were statistically better than the placebo-treated group, where only 53% showed improvement. ^(iv.146)
• Turmeric also performed better than the 30 patients treated with an herbal mixture of cascara, nux vomica, and ginger. ^(iv.146)

IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME (IBS)

Clinical trial

207 patients with self-reported IBS

72 or 144 mg/day of turmeric extract

Question: Can turmeric supplements relieve pain from irritable bowel syndrome?

Answer: In both dosage groups, IBS patients reported significant decrease in pain and discomfort, as well as improvement in other IBS symptoms. ^(iv.51)

LAPAROSCOPIC CHOLECYSTECTOMY

(post-operative pain)

Double blind, randomized, and placebo-controlled clinical trial

50 patients

Curcumin tablets taken daily

Question: Can curcumin supplements help relieve post-op pain from having gallbladder surgery?

Answer:

• The 25 patients given curcumin had significantly lower pain scores in the first 2 weeks following surgery to remove the gallbladder. ^(iv.150)
• All patients were given pharmaceutical pain pills to take in case of severe pain. However, the curcumin-treated group used only about 7 pills on average compared to 39 in the placebo-treated group. ^(iv.150)
• Curcumin also significantly reduced fatigue compared to the untreated group. ^(iv.150)

ORAL SUBMUCOUS FIBROSIS

Clinical study

7 adult male and female patients

0.6-1.0 ml/day of turmeric oil orally for 3 months

Question: Can turmeric oil relieve pain from oral submucous fibrosis?

Answer:

• Turmeric oil reduced pain associated with these precancerous mouth lesions without serious side effects in all patients. ^(iv.151)
• In addition, patients showed less DNA damage after taking turmeric oil. ^(iv.151)
• Participants also reported feelings of well-being (4 of 7) and improved complexions (2 of 7). ^(iv.151)

OROFACIAL PAIN

Animal

25-600 mg of curcumin per kg of body weight via injection

Question: How can curcumin relieve pain from uveitis?

Answer:

• By itself, curcumin reduced facial pain in a dose-dependent manner. ^(iv.152)
• 25 mg/kg doses of curcumin also enhanced pain relief when combined with small doses of the non-steroidal analgesic drug diclofenac (0.2 mg/kg). ^(iv.152)

OSTEOARTHRITIS

Clinical study

42 patients with osteoarthritis

1300 mg three times a day of Ayurveda formula containing 300 mg turmeric total

Question: Can herbal turmeric supplements relieve pain from osteoarthritis?

Answer: Patients reported significant reduction in pain severity and disability, with mild side effects. ^(iv.146)

OSTEOARTHRITIS

Clinical study

Ayurvedic formula containing turmeric, ashwagandha, frankincense, and zinc.

Question: Can herbal formulas containing turmeric relieve arthritis pain?

Answer: Patients who took an Ayurveda herbal formula containing turmeric showed the following benefits:

• Significantly reduced severity of pain. ^(iv.146)
• Decreased disability. ^(iv.146)

POST-SURGICAL PAIN

Clinical study

1200 mg/day of curcumin for 5 days post-surgery

Question: Can curcumin supplements relieve pain after surgery?

Answer: Curcumin supplements improved walking time, morning stiffness, and swelling. ^(iv.153)

RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Clinical study

18 patients with rheumatoid arthritis

1200 mg/day curcumin

Question: Can curcumin supplements relieve pain from rheumatoid arthritis?

Answer:

• Curcumin supplements improved walking time, morning stiffness, and swelling. ^(iv.146)
• However, curcumin did not improve fatigue. ^(iv.146)