[HappyHunter]

Nettles 'ease arthritis suffering'
Stinging nettles can be an effective therapy to relieve the
pain of arthritis, researchers say.

There is anecdotal evidence from around the world of the
usefulness of nettles in treating the condition - from
soldiers in Roman times to modern day Ecuador.

But a study carried out at the University of Plymouth is
thought to be the first of its kind to apparently prove
scientifically that the therapy works.

Stinging nettle leaves were applied to the hands of 27
arthritis sufferers daily for a week.

The results were then compared to the effect of using a
placebo, the white deadnettle leaf, which does not sting,
also applied for a week.

The researchers found that stinging nettles not only
significantly reduced pain, but also that the level of that
pain stayed lower through most of the treatment.

Although pain relief "was most likely to occur if a sting with
weals was produced", 85% of patients said that this was an
acceptable side-effect, and most said they preferred the
stinging nettles to their usual pain relief.

It is not known why the nettles work, but they contain
serotonin and histamine, both of which are neuro-
transmitters, and might affect pain perception and
transmission at the nerve endings.

Other possibilities could be that the sting has an
acupuncture-like effect, or that it acts as a "counter
irritant" like capsaicin, an ingredient derived from peppers
which is used in products like Ralgex.

Conventional treatments

Some of the patients were already taking conventional
treatments - analgesics and anti-inflammatories, but none
had used nettles before.

Dr Colin Randall at the university led the research and first
became interested in the possibility of nettles as a therapy
as a GP when patients claimed it eased their pain.

He said in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine:
"The stinging nettle is a freely available plant and its sting
seems a safe treatment for musculoskeletal pain."

The pain of the sting could have an effect on patients'
perception of their arthritis, he added.

The Arthritis Research Campaign is about to fund research
into complementary medicines, including dietary
supplements, herbalism and acupuncture, for the first time.

Chief executive of the charity Fergus Logan said: "New
medicines and treatments have traditionally been
developed under a convention which says in a nutshell
'Don't use it if you can't prove it'.

"But in complementary medicine, it is often believed that
the proof is provided by use and that no further
investigation is needed.

"Scientists find this concept difficult, hence the skepticism
some feel."

Professor Paul Emery, a leading rheumatologist, said: "I'm
all for testing complementary therapies. We have to work
out if they work or not - we can't simply ignore them."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/771563.stm

Yeah I guess if u had a pain in your big toe and ended up smacking your little toe off a door the pain in the big toe would be forgotten haha

I have a special patch of organic nettles where every morning I walk barefoot, it wakes me up and gets me hopping round like a bunny ready to face the day hahahah. It's a bit like walking through hot coals. I am joking here, but the research is serious. I cannot imagine agreeing to participate in a study such as the one above but it is interesting.

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/s...tle-000275.htm