Leech and Pain (Knee Pain Due to Calcification)
Leech therapy is a treatment method that has existed since ancient times and is frequently used in various fields. In medieval England, Leecher (Leecher) was used to mean healer. By the mid-nineteenth century its use was so intensified that it nearly went extinct in and around France. When leeches were in fashion, both the public and George
It has become a treatment method used by important names such as Washington and Napoleon Bonaparte. Although the frequency of its use in Western society decreased, it remained popular until the 1970s. In 2005 and 2007, its use in the field of health was legalized in Germany and other European countries.
Hirudo therapy takes its name from the Latin name of Leeches. There are species such as Hirudo verbana, Hirudo medicinalis and Hirudo orientalis found in nature, and they are often found in river beds in and around Turkey.
Leeches used for medical purposes have 60-100 teeth in their jaws. In half an hour leech treatment, a leech sucks 5-10 times its weight in blood. However, medicinal leeches
They do not treat by sucking dirty blood. The curative property is not in the collection of blood, but in the secretion given to the body while it is being absorbed. This secretion contains more than 100 bioactive substances. The main ones are Hirudin and Calin, which are anticoagulant (antiaggregant), anticoagulant (fibrinolytic), pain reliever (analgesic-antirheumatic), germicidal (antibacterial), blood pressure stabilizer (antihypertensive), myorelaxant, immune It has regulating (immune modulator) and stress relieving (anxiolytic) effects.
Leech therapy is used successfully in many circulatory system diseases, especially in arterial and venous occlusions, varicose veins, inflammatory and non-inflammatory joint rheumatism, soft tissue rheumatism, skin diseases such as psoriasis and eczema.
In the studies examined in an article compiling scientific studies conducted in Germany on this subject, Calcification of Leech Therapy
It has been shown that it cures knee pain resulting from medical treatments with less side effects than medical treatments. For example, in a study examined, 51 patients with osteoarthritis were compared using a single session of leech therapy and pain relief cream for 1 month. It was observed that the effect of leech-related pain reduction was highest in the first week after the application. In another randomized controlled study in the same review, the effect of Leech Therapy was observed on 113 patients. According to the results of the research, it was observed that the pain due to calcification decreased in patients who received leech therapy, while the use of painkillers in this group decreased statistically significantly. The greatest improvement and long-term effect was seen after 1 month in patients who received leech therapy at regular intervals. As a side effect, it was revealed that the patients participating in the study needed bandage application due to itching in the leech areas and post-procedure bleeding.
In another study, 400 patients were followed up and it was observed that knee pain was relieved for 6-12 months with leech therapy and they recommended leech therapy to those suffering from pain due to joint diseases twice a year. There is strong evidence for its instant and short-term effect in relieving pain and it is also used for long-term pain relief.
Moderate evidence is said to be present.
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