Condition

Chronic Nonspecific Knee Pain

Chronic nonspecific knee pain is knee pain that lasts for months, often with stiffness, without one clear cause such as an injury. In a 12-week trial of 60 people with knee joint pain, an ashwagandha extract lowered pain, stiffness and disability scores more than placebo, while in a small pilot study of nettle stings knee pain eased about as much as in the comparison group.

Sources: PMID 27647541; PMID 18514907

Supplements studied: 2
Graded outcomes: 1
Trials: 2
People studied: 102

Evidence by supplement

Strong
Moderate
Limited
Very limited

2 supplements

Ashwagandha

Ashwagandha: outcomes studied for Chronic Nonspecific Knee Pain
Grade	Outcome	Effect	Size	Studies	People
	Osteoarthritis Symptoms Moderate Improvement	Improves (the measure goes down)	Moderate effect		60 people
	Pain	Improves (the measure goes down)		1 study	60 people
Studies that measured pain A randomized, double blind placebo controlled study of efficacy and tolerability of Withaina somnifera extracts in knee joint painJ Ayurveda Integr Med · PMID 27647541

Stinging Nettle

Stinging Nettle: outcomes studied for Chronic Nonspecific Knee Pain
Grade	Outcome	Effect	Size	Studies	People	Studies list
	Osteoarthritis Symptoms	Improves (the measure goes down)		3 studies	42 people
Studies that measured osteoarthritis symptoms Stinging nettle cream for osteoarthritisAltern Ther Health Med · PMID 19623834 Randomized controlled trial of nettle sting for treatment of base-of-thumb painJ R Soc Med · PMID 10911825 Nettle sting for chronic knee pain: a randomised controlled pilot studyComplement Ther Med · PMID 18514907

Key findings

Osteoarthritis SymptomsAshwagandhaImproves (the measure goes down)

The Chronic Nonspecific Knee Pain Support protocol

2 primary supplements · 7 supporting supplements

Collagen Peptides10–15 g hydrolyzed collagen daily
Curcumin500–1,000 mg daily bioavailable formulation (with piperine or phytosome)

See the full protocol

Shop the evidence-backed picks

Fullscript collectionJoints and bones: evidence-graded picksOpen on Fullscript

The collection holds the supplements we grade A or B for its theme, in products from the Fullscript catalog. It opens in our Fullscript store. You can look through it without signing in; Fullscript asks for a free account to order.

We earn from purchases made in our Fullscript store, and links to Fullscript, iHerb or Thorne carry our referral, so we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Grades come from the research and never change based on what we earn. Full disclosure

Studies cited

4 studies from PubMed

Nettle sting for chronic knee pain: a randomised controlled pilot studyComplement Ther Med · PMID 18514907
Randomized controlled trial of nettle sting for treatment of base-of-thumb painJ R Soc Med · PMID 10911825
Stinging nettle cream for osteoarthritisAltern Ther Health Med · PMID 19623834
A randomized, double blind placebo controlled study of efficacy and tolerability of Withaina somnifera extracts in knee joint painJ Ayurveda Integr Med · PMID 27647541