The Homeopathic Preparation Traumeel® S Compared With Nsaids for Symptomatic Treatment of Epicondylitis

Objective: To compare the homeopathic remedy Traumeel® S with standard NSAID therapy for effects on symptomatic relief in patients with diagnosed epicondylitis. Methods: An observational, non-randomized study over 2 weeks in 184 patients with diagnosed epicondylitis from 38 primary care centers in Germany. At the start of the study, patients were given initial injections of either Traumeel® S or NSAID (unspecified; mainly diclofenac). Traumeel® S patients might have other Traumeel® S injections and other treatments were allowed, e.g. oral analgesics (in the NSAID group only) or physiotherapy. Treatments were evaluated on clinically relevant variables: three pain variables (local pressure pain, pain with movements, pain at rest) and two mobility variables (change in extensional joint mobility and change in torsional joint mobility). Results: Both treatments significantly improved scores on all five variables with no significant differences in time to onset of action. Traumeel® S was equivalent to NSAIDs on all evaluated variables and was significantly superior to NSAID therapy on the variables pain at rest (p<0.01), torsional joint mobility (p<0.01), and extensional joint mobility (p<0.05). Patients' verdicts on the global outcome reflected the results, with the terms "very good" or "good", given by 71.0% of patients in the Traumeel® S group versus 44.2% of patients receiving NSAIDs. Tolerability was good in all groups. Conclusion: Traumeel® S represents an appealing and well-tolerated alternative to NSAIDs for symptomatic treatment of epicondylitis.