Knee Pain Relief by Using Uncle Winai’s Herbal Poultice: Safety and Preliminary Findings

Abstract

Uncle Winai was a folk doctor who had a medical certificate in Thai traditional medicine who lived in Sa Kaeo province and invented Uncle Winai’s herbal patch which consisted of three herbs: Cassumunar ginger, Kaffir lime peel, Galangal. However, there was no study for effectiveness of the herbal patch. This prospective observational study aimed to assess the safety and preliminary outcome of Uncle Winai’s herbal patch for knee pain reduction. Participants was 100 patients who visited Sa Kaeo Crown Prince Hospital for knee pain without restriction on gender and age. All participants were treated with Uncle Winai’s herbal patch for 30 minutes. Knee pain was assessed with Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) on pre-treatment, immediately post-treatment, and one day post-treatment. Participants were also observed for adverse events. Data was analyzed with descriptive statistic and Paired t-test was used to compare between pre- and post-treatment knee pain. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board (TCTR No. 20170719006; IRB No.32/2560). 81% of participants were female. Mean pre-treatment knee pain was 5.17±1.90. Mean immediately post-treatment knee pain was 3.28±1.69, and one day post-treatment was 3.08±1.67 (p<0.001). No adverse event occurred. Uncle Winai’s herbal patch could alleviate knee pain and should be studied and developed to use as alternative treatment for knee pain.