Ginger and Osteoarthritis

Ginger has been used for 1000s of years as a food and medicine; it is likely one of the most ancient remedies valued by humans. Ancient Indian and Chinese cultures reportedly used ginger for a wide variety of conditions and modern day research has found it effective as an anti-emetic and anti-inflammatory agent, when taken internally. Random controlled trials using ginger extract have been found effective in relieving symptoms of osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is the primary cause of musculoskeletal pain and disability in Western cultures. Current management is primarily through the use of anti-inflammatory and analgesic medication, with cortisone injections and joint replacements a final resort. There is a need for a self-administered, non-toxic, natural therapy that relieves osteoarthritis symptoms, with none of the disadvantages of conventional medication or surgical procedures. A treatment is needed to control symptoms that are: easy to administer, using minimal materials, comfortable to receive, with no known side effects. People with osteoarthritis require a simple treatment that supports the management of chronic pain, relieves their anxiety and improves mobility. This chapter introduces the significant effect on osteoarthritis symptoms, when ginger is applied externally rather than ingested internally. Four aspects are discussed: 1) ginger for arthritis, 2) ginger qualities and characteristics, 3) ginger for osteoarthritis and, 4) management and ginger therapy

A Phenomenological Study of Ginger Compress Therapy for People with Osteoarthritis

This paper claims rigour and sensitivity for a methodology used to explore multiple sources of data and expose the essential characteristics of a phenomenon in the human sciences. A descriptive phenomenological methodology was applied in a study of the experience of ten people with osteoarthritis receiving ginger compress therapy. The application of the phenomenological attitude, with reduction, bracketing and imaginative variation, allowed multiple sources of data – written, pictorial and oral – to be explicated. The applied methodology used is described in this paper, with its six clearly defined steps illustrated by examples from the study. The findings demonstrate that phenomenological reduction enabled an indication of the potential benefits of ginger compress treatment as a therapy for people with osteoarthritis. Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology, May 2010, Volume 10, Edition

A phenomenological inquiry into the patient\u27s experience of the external application of ginger

This Research Study explores the quality of the experience for the patient of the external application of ginger using a Husserllan phenomenological methodology, In this Study the phenomenon Is the patient\u27s experience of the external application of ginger. A group of Anthroposophical Nurses in the Hawkes Bay of New Zealand personally selected seven appropriate consenting adults to receive one external application of ginger. Following their experience, the patients were asked a series of open-ended questions by the researcher, These Interviews were audio taped. The interview data have been transcribed and reduced to themes that have been explored and reflected on alongside relevant literature in the field. Four Interpretative themes capturing the patients experience were identified. These are patient experience: •warmth in the body as increasing In intensity and radiating outwards; •Increasing stimulation of internal activity within their body; •changes In thought-life, sensory perception and bodily tension; •centredness within themselves and a greater sense of personal boundary In relation to the world. The warmth response was slow and subtle initially and experienced externally on the skin beneath the ginger compress. Gradually the heat Intensified and developed into deep inner warmth. Patients were astonished at the strength and depth the heat generated. The warmth penetrated deep within the body spreading as far as the limbs. There was a definite awareness that this internal heat response was caused by the ginger compress, remaining long after the treatment and stimulating internal body activity. Patients experienced an enlivening of internal activity within the digestive, excretory and circulatory organs of the body. The increasing activity within the circulation moved and energised the metabolism. There was an awareness of increased blood flow throughout the body accompanied by a sense of an opening up within. Digestive disturbances and increased energy ware experienced; It was as If the body received something extra that enabled a movement internally. Patients experienced a stimulated thought life, including a transition from a dreamy to a wakeful state, changing sensations within the skin, activation of the senses and a relief of aches and tensions in the body. Following the ginger compress thinking was alert and active along with a general Increase In vitality and a sense of being present. There was a sense of being more centred, more connected to oneself and more aware of one\u27s physical body. Patients experienced the opportunity to revisit their inner self, the inner core of their being. For all the patients the experience of the ginger compress was positive. Some of the patients expressed the wish to have repeated treatments. Future research on the experience of a series of ginger compresses for patients with specific conditions would be significant

Topical ginger treatment with a compress or patch for osteoarthritis symptoms

Aim: This article is a report of a study evaluating changes in health status before and after topical ginger treatment for adults with moderate to severe osteoarthritis. Method: In 2011, 20 adults with chronic osteoarthritis were randomly assigned to one of two groups for 7 consecutive days of topical ginger treatment by trained nurses: Group 1 received a manually prepared ginger compress and Group 2 a standardized ginger patch. Participants had the option to continue self-treatment using the ginger patch for a further 24 weeks. A brief arthritis health questionnaire was completed weekly for 3 weeks and 4 weekly for 24 weeks. Results: The mean scores for Group 1 and Group 2 show a notable decline following 1-week topical ginger treatment; scores in pain, fatigue, global effect, and functional status reduced by 48%, 49%, 40%, and 31%, respectively, whereas health satisfaction improved from 80% dissatisfied to 70% satisfied. Scores for all participants in all five domains progressively reduced over the following 24 weeks of self-treatment. Conclusion: Topical ginger treatment has the potential to relieve symptoms, improve the overall health, and increase independence of people with chronic osteoarthritis

Patients’ Experience of the External Therapeutic Application of Ginger by Anthroposophically Trained Nurses

There has been considerable public debate on a range of complementary health practices throughout the western world, perhaps especially in Australia, United States and Europe. Most often, the research critique of these practices is restricted to quantitative or non-user qualitative research methodologies. Consequently, there is a significant gap in the research profile of complementary health services that needs to be addressed particularly in view of the rapid and ongoing increase in the use of complementary services, even in the face of sometimes adverse media publicity. This paper demonstrates the contribution that phenomenologically based research can make to fill this lacuna by explicating, in detail, the client experience of a complementary health practice. The paper explores patient experience of a ginger compress, as applied by anthroposophically trained nurses, to demonstrate various therapeutic effects. Four key themes emerged including an increase in warmth and internal activity in the major organs of the body, changes in thought-life and sensory perception along with a greater sense of well-being and self-focus with the perception of clearer personal boundaries. These themes, emerging from a patient sample in New Zealand, compared favourably to the Filderklinik Study completed in 1992 in a large German state hospital. Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology, Volume 4, Edition 1 July 200

Ginger compress therapy for adults with osteoarthritis

therkleson t. (2010) Ginger compress therapy for adults with osteoarthritis. Journal of Advanced Nursing66(10), 2225–2233

The experience of receiving ginger compresses in persons with osteoarthritis : a phenomenological study

This is the first research study exploring the experience of the ginger compress for people with the diagnosed condition of osteoarthritis (OA). The stimulus for this research came out of both the researcher\u27s Masters research and an interest in alternative healthcare. The World Health Organisation has declared 2000-2010 the Bone and Joint decade, with one of the primary aims advancement in the research and treatment of musculoskeletal disorders of which OA is the most common. Conventional management of OA is generally focused on the use of either non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or analgesics, which are regularly rejected by people either because of side effects from long-term use or personal preference for alternative treatments. Rheumatologists suggest that the ideal management of OA includes a combination of both conventional and alternative treatments. The ginger compress is an alternative treatment for people with OA symptoms, which has its origins in ancient folk lore, having been used for thousands of years in China. Today, it is a routine treatment for OA in Traditional Chinese Medicine clinics in the Guangzhou province of China and hospitals in Germany specialised in complementary healthcare. In 2006 the researcher visited these clinics and hospitals to gain an understanding of the use of the ginger compress. The ginger compress is a cotton cloth, soaked in a hot ginger infusion, and applied externally on specific parts of the body. In this study it was applied on the kidney region of the back and termed a ginger kidney compress (GKC). A Husserlian phenomenological approach was used to explore the meaning of the lived experience of the GKC for people with OA. This approach applies a rigorous process of phenomenological reduction, bracketing and reflexivity to enable the essential features of the experience to be exposed. The opportunity for people’s experiences to be reported free of researcher bias is a significant feature of this approach. A clearly defined, systematic methodology was followed, which enabled complex sources of data to be explored and described logically and creatively. In this study data were obtained through the use of an OA selection questionnaire, daily diaries and drawings, follow-up interview, telephone conversations and emails. Two primary open-ended questions were asked to elicit participants’ experience of the GKC. A significant parameter of the research was the purposive sampling. Ten adults, 6 female and 4 male, over 45 years of age, with symptomatic OA were selected. For all participants, OA was not being satisfactorily managed by existing approaches, it had been present for at least one year, and it was confirmed by X-ray and detailed assessment of symptoms. An arthritis assessment questionnaire confirmed that participants met the criteria for selection. People with rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, cancer, other serious conditions and those on corticosteroids were excluded from the study. Ten nurses in complementary primary healthcare clinics in New Zealand and Australia applied the treatment and monitored the participants\u27 condition. The treatment involved daily GKCs for seven consecutive days. Following the treatment, data was collected and analysed, using the software tool NVivo. Seven themes were identified that revealed the GKC treatment had a significant and positive impact on participants\u27 relationship to the self, others and the world and the impact continued for varying periods after the treatment. All participants experienced encompassing, penetrating warmth in the body, which activated a deeply relaxed state. The mind was totally at peace and calm as a sense of timelessness ensued, which allowed revived memories to be met with renewed understanding. The self experienced an energising of the whole inner being, with thought life becoming alive and awake. A sense of inner bodily freeing progressed to an emotional and physical release. As tensions, eased joint flexibility and subsequent mobility improved. The self experienced a sense of enthusiasm for life that accompanied an interest and inner urge to renew participation in social and other worldly activities. A new world view was gained in which the self felt confidently independent and able to manage life with OA. This study found a particular personality type is prevalent in people with symptomatic OA. A lack of deep inner warmth, relaxation and vitality are typical experiences for such people. The GKC treatment counteracted this deficiency, with ginger’s unique qualities of heat, balance, stimulation, anti-inflammation and analgesia. This treatment offers hope for people with a condition that has led to progressive physical deterioration and loss of quality of life. It offers understanding in management of OA and a brighter future living with OA