Lettuce celebrate!
Dr. Kunal Sood, a pain management specialist based in Maryland, is sharing a cheap, unconventional hack for joint pain — wrapping cabbage leaves around the afflicted area.
“Cabbage leaves have been used in some cultures as a topical application to reduce both inflammation and pain,” Sood explained in a TikTok last week.
“It is believed the leaves contain compounds with potential anti-inflammatory properties,” he continued. “The leaves are typically applied to the affected joint after being chilled.”
Research published in 2022 found that a compress of cabbage leaves administered for one hour was just as effective in improving knee function and pain in osteoarthritis patients as a cooling gel pad for 20 minutes.
Osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint condition that comes from wear and tear, affects 32.5 million American adults as the most common form of arthritis.
How researchers prepared the cabbage wraps
- The common white cabbage was sourced from northern Thailand.
- Damaged cabbage layers were removed, and the hard stem at the midline cabbage leaf was cut out.
- The remaining cabbage was rinsed with water and dried.
- Each cabbage leaf was individually sealed in a vacuumed plastic bag that was refrigerated at 3 degrees Celsius for one week before use.
- Every participant received two or three cabbage leaves in a vacuum-sealed pack every week.
- Participants had to bruise the leaves using a bottle before placing it on their knees.
“Although it is more convenient to use a cooling gel pad to treat [osteoarthritis] knee, it is more beneficial to use cabbage leaf in some areas, especially rural areas where it is an inexpensive home remedy to relieve knee pain,” the researchers wrote in their findings, published in the Pain Research & Management journal.
Sood cautioned that the evidence to support the use of cabbage leaves for joint pain is anecdotal, but there is no downside to giving it a try.
Some of Sood’s 2.3 million TikTok followers chimed in that they stuffed their bras with the green goodness to quell breast swelling while nursing.
“Helped me very much when I was breastfeeding,” one woman shared. “Thought it was silly, but worked great to reduce the swelling and inflammation.”
