Objectives: The study investigates measurable effects of cabbage leaf wraps on post-traumatic knee injury exudate absorption in men.
Design: Case-control experiment on the same group of patients (before and after treatment).
Settings/location: One academic center and two hospitals.
Subjects: The study was carried out on a group of patients with different degrees of injury severity in the acute stage of the knee injury who were divided into three groups based on the width of suprapatellar recess gap (3-5 mm in group 1, 6-10 mm in group 2, and 11 mm or more in group 3) as assessed by ultrasonography.
Interventions: Each group of patients was divided into two subgroups, one of which comprised patients whose knees were treated with wraps containing cabbage leaves with ice (cases) and the others comprised patients treated with wraps without cabbage leaves, with cooling dressing only (controls).
Results: Significant progression in knee fluid uptake was observed in the acute stage of the knee injuries treated with cabbage wraps compared with control groups (p < 0.05). It was shown that the time, type of wraps, and a degree of severity of post-traumatic exudative knee inflammation affect the process of knee recovery (Friedman test for repeated measures p < 0.05). The most significant results were observed within first 24 h after the injury. Further decrease in the width of the recess gap after 5 days was observed.
Conclusions: Application of cabbage wraps with ice to the knee in men may promote a reduction of swelling (by accelerating absorption of knee exudates) if applied during the acute stage of the knee injury.
Keywords: cabbage wraps; knee inflammation; post-traumatic knee exudation.