COMPARISON OF THE EFFECT OF BROCCOLI AND TURMERIC ON THE PAIN OF JOINTS IN ELDERLY PATIENTS WITH KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS

Introduction: Osteoarthritis is one of the most important causes of disability among the elderly, which causes pain, decreases the quality of life, and increases the dependence. Herbal medicine, as one of the nursing interventions, eliminates the symptoms of pain and, as a result, improves health. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the effect of the use of broccoli and turmeric on reducing the pain of joints in the elderly with knee osteoarthritis. Method: The randomized clinical trial was performed on 60 elderly patients with knee osteoarthritis. The participants were divided into three groups; 20 controls, 20 broccoli recipients and 20 turmeric recipients. In this study, broccoli as 10 gr powder, and turmeric as 180 mg gelatin capsule were provided to the elderly. They were examined for 4 weeks. Also, koos questionnaire was used to determine the pain. Findings: Findings of the study showed that there was no significant difference in pain intensity in broccoli, turmeric and control groups before intervention (P-value> 0.05). According to the paired t-test, the severity of pain in the three groups was statistically significant after the intervention (P-value <0.05) Also, the Bonferroni test showed a significant difference between the control and broccoli groups after intervention (P-value <0.05) However, there was no significant difference between pain severity in control and turmeric, turmeric and broccoli groups after intervention (P-value> 0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that any of the above interventions (Turmeric and Broccoli) can reduce the pain of knee joints in the elderly withosteoarthritis.Given that the effect of broccoli and turmeric was at the same level, and many elderly people cannot use turmeric, broccoli is suggested to be included in the elderly diet. Keywords: Broccoli, Sulforaphane, Knee pain, Elderly, Osteoarthritis, Turmeric