Turmeric Proven More Effective Than Ibuprofen For Joint Pain

Turmeric, the bright orange spice that makes curries yellow, has many health benefits. One area in which it’s coming to the fore is in treating arthritis or joint pain, and now there’s scientific testing that confirms its effectiveness.

An exciting new clinical trial published in the Journal of Clinical Interventions in Aging tested the effects of turmeric compared with ibuprofen in treating people with knee osteoarthritis.

Don’t ever give your dog ibuprofen

First of all, let’s stress that ibuprofen should never be given to dogs. It can be highly toxic for them; the margin of safety for canine use is much narrower than it is in humans. So please don’t ever give your dog ibuprofen of any kind.

Then why are we talking about it?

Ibuprofen is one of the most popular pain relievers in the US, accounting for a third of over the counter analgesics in the country. Despite the number of adverse effects (including toxicity to the heart, according to the medical journal The Lancet), the US consumes over 100 billion tablets per year! So we can conclude that ibuprofen’s probably a pretty effective pain reliever. But what about turmeric? How does it compare?

The difference between turmeric and curcumin

It’s confusing sometimes to read about turmeric and curcumin as the two terms are often used interchangeably, but they’re not quite the same thing. The Latin name for turmeric is Curcuma domestica;turmeric contains curcumin. Curcumin is the active constituent in turmeric that provides most of the health benefits. Turmeric is the name for the spice that is used in cooking; the name curcumin is often used when discussing the health aspects of the spice.

What the study found

The study, titled Efficacy and safety of Curcuma domestica extracts compared with ibuprofen in patients with knee osteoarthritis, compared the effects of ibuprofen and turmeric in 367 patients over a four week period. All patients had a pain score of five or higher at the beginning of the trial; in other words they experienced moderate pain that was bad enough to interfere with tasks or possibly even concentration. The patients were randomly assigned into groups given either Curcuma domestica extracts (185) or ibuprofen (182). The study measured pain, stiffness, function and total scores.

In conclusion, the study reports that both C. domestica and ibuprofen were successful in reducing pain and discomfort, but C. domestica patients scored better on tests of stair climbing and a 100 meter walk. All scores showed significant improvement over the baseline scores in both groups; 96-97% of subjects in both groups were satisfied with the treatment and two thirds rated themselves as improved. However, the number of adverse events, primarily abdominal pain or discomfort, was significantly higher in the ibuprofen group that in the C. domestica extracts group.

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