Do Cabbage Leaves Really Relieve Pain? · Mind and Body Solutions

Do Cabbage Leaves Really Relieve Pain?

In 2022, researchers with Thailand's Princess Srisavangavadhana College of Medicine put cabbage leaves' effectiveness for osteoarthritis (OA) to the test against a cooling gel pad or diclofenac gel. One group used a cooling gel pad for 20 minutes once a day, while another group used diclofenac gel four times a day. The third group applied a cabbage leaf for one hour daily.

After four weeks, both the cabbage leaf group and the cooling gel pad group had significant improvements in pain as well as Oxford Knee Score, which measures pain and function in the knee. Outcomes were similar for the cooling pad and cabbage leaf groups, and outperformed diclofenac gel. According to the team:

"Their therapeutic effectiveness was better than that of diclofenac gel … our cabbage leaf therapy demonstrated substantial pain reduction in patients with knee OA with no side effects. Furthermore, our cabbage leaf therapy is an easily accessible and safe option with a low economic burden in terms of hospital expenses for patients with OA undergoing costly treatments with substantial clinically associated side effects and adverse events."

Previous research has also found cabbage leaf wraps to be more effective for knee osteoarthritis than usual care. In one study, women who applied cabbage leaf wraps for four weeks reported significantly less pain than those who received usual care.

The researchers noted, "Although it is more convenient to use a cooling gel pad to treat OA 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." Further, the cabbage leaf resulted in no side effects, while diclofenac gel can cause burning, itching and redness, along with headaches, eye pain, skin ulcers, chest pain and other adverse effects.

Cabbages leaves are also useful for relieving pain, engorgement and hardness that can occur during breastfeeding. One systematic review found cold cabbage leaves may work better than routine care for breast pain and breast hardness, while room temperature cabbage leaves may relieve breast engorgement better than a hot water bag.

Women were also more satisfied using cold cabbage leaves than routine care or cold gel packs. As further noted in Pain: Research and Management, "Cabbage leaf application has been found to be clinically effective in alleviating the pain of breast congestion in women."

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