Study Shows Pine Bark Naturally Reduces Oste...(ication providedthey recorded every tabl...),Health

To describe and rate osteoarthritis symptoms (joint pain, stiffness and physical function), WOMAC questionnaires were evaluated by the investigator and patient at the start and after three months of treatment. Patients were trained on a treadmill test and performance evaluation was recorded on total distance that could be covered without pain. Measuring foot volume by the water-displacement method was used to evaluate ankle/foot edema in a randomly selected subgroup of subjects within the two treatment groups.

After three months, scores for pain dropped significantly for the Pycnogenol(R) treatment group and no significant effects were recorded for the placebo group. Scores for stiffness were reduced by 53 percent. The scores for physical function were reduced by 57 percent in the Pycnogenol(R) group and improvement under placebo was not significant. The global WOMAC score decreased following Pycnogenol(R) treatment and very little in the placebo group, from 56 percent vs. 9.6 percent for Pycnogenol(R) and placebo, respectively. Overall well-being of patients (emotional function) was significantly enhanced with the Pycnogenol(R) group, by 64 percent and 15 percent for the placebo group.

Results of exercise tests on the treadmill demonstrated an increased performance after three months of Pycnogenol(R) treatment. At the start of the study, patients could only walk a mean of 74 yards without feeling pain and after three months, they could walk 216 yards, compared to the placebo group that noted 71 yards at the beginning of the study and 96 yards at the end.

In addition to the osteoarthritis results, 76 percent of the patients in the Pycnogenol(R) group and 79 percent in the placebo group showed visible ankle and foot edema at inclusion of the study. After the three months, edema decreased in 79 percent of the Pycnogenol(R) patients and only one percent in placebo-t
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