Topical symphytum herb concentrate cream against myalgia: a randomized controlled double-blind clinical study.

The effectiveness and tolerability of the topical Symphytum product Traumaplant (Harras Pharma Curarina, München, Germany) (10% active ingredient of a 2.5:1 aqueous-ethanolic pressed concentrate of freshly harvested, cultivated comfrey herb [Symphytum uplandicum Nyman], corresponding to 25 g of fresh herb per 100 g of cream) in the treatment of patients with myalgia (n=104) were tested against a 1% reference product (corresponding to 2.5 g of fresh comfrey herb in 100 g of cream; n=111). The primary efficacy parameter in this double-blind, reference- controlled, randomized, multicenter study of 215 patients with pain in the lower and upper back was pain in motion, assessed with the aid of a visual analogue scale. Secondary efficacy parameters included pain at rest, pain on palpation, and functional impairment. With high concentrations of the treatment product, amelioration of pain on active motion (P<5 x 10 -9 ), pain at rest (P<.001), and pain on palpation (P=5 x 10 -5 ) was significantly more pronounced than that attained with the reference product and was clinically highly relevant. A number needed to treat of 3.2 was calculated from the study results. Global efficacy was significantly better (P=1 x 10 -8 ) and onset of effects was faster (P=4 x 10 -7 ) with the high-concentration product. Tolerability of the highly concentrated study product was good to excellent in all patients. Study results confirm the known anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of topical (Symphytum cream. As a new finding, applicability in certain forms of back pain can be concluded.

Synergetic analgesic effect of the combination of arnica and hydroxyethyl salicylate in ethanolic solution following cutaneous application by transcutaneous electrostimulation.

A combination of the active agents arnica and hydroxyethyl salicylate (HES) in ethanolic solution (Sportino Acute Spray) is cutaneously applied for the treatment of sports injuries and diseases of the locomotor apparatus. The aim was to examine the efficacy and synergism of the single substances and the combination with regard to the analgesic effect after cutaneous application as well as to validate the method of transcutaneous electronic stimulation as a method of measuring the analgesic effect. In the present article, the method of transcutaneous electrostimulation was used in a randomized, controlled, single-blind trial on healthy volunteers to provide objective evidence that the combination of active agents displays a significantly greater analgesic effect than the individual active agents. Thus there is synergy between the active agents arnica and hydroxyethyl salicylate in the combination preparation. In addition, the effect of the vehicle ethanol and the reference substance water could be determined within the framework of these comparative experiments and the difference between the combination preparation and the individual substances arnica and HES could be shown. The method of transcutaneous electrostimulation used for the objective measurement of the analgesic effect was validated.