Neuropathic Pain

Efficacy of Alternative and Other Treatments According to GRADE* Ranking:

Peppermint Oil [1, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16]:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.

Recommendation: no recommendation (There is insufficient evidence to support claims that peppermint helps to treat neuropathic pain)

Grade of Evidence: very low quality of evidence

Cannabis (Marijuana, weed, hemp) [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.

Recommendation: Weakly in favor (Evidence shows that smoking or ingesting cannabis may help in relieving symptoms of pain, although some studies have yielded mixed results)

Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence

Red Pepper (Capsaicin):

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It is proposed only as a weak supportive symptomatic support, and even then, has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.

Recommendation: strongly in favor (Evidence suggest that red peppers can reduce the degree of neuropathic pain in patients after surgery)

Grade of Evidence: moderate quality of evidence

Transcutaneous Electrical Neuromuscular Stimulation:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.

Recommendation: no recommendation (There is not enough evidence supporting the role of TENS in chronic pain therapy)

Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence

* www.gradeworkinggroup.org

Summary References

Treatments:

1. Ades T, Alteri R, Gansler T, Yeargin P, "Complete Guide to Complimentary & Alternative Cancer Therapies", American Cancer Society, Atlanta USA, 2009

2. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/marijuana.html

3. http://nccam.nih.gov/research/extramural/awards/2004/

4. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/marijuana

5. http://www.nationalmssociety.org/about-multiple-sclerosis/what-we-know-about-ms/treatments/complementary--alternative-medicine/marijuana/index.aspx

6. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16957511

7. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12965981

8. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17589370

9. http://mct.aacrjournals.org/content/6/11/2921.long

10. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2562334/?tool=pmcentrez 

11.  http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/peppermint

12. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17420159

13. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19507027

14. http://www.medicine.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/booth/alternat/AT022.html

15. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-peppermint.html

16. http://nccam.nih.gov/health/peppermintoil/index.htm







 

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