Comfrey and sprains
What 3 graded rows on comfrey agree on for sprains, and where they differ. Counted side by side, never averaged.
Consensus finder Rows from the Comfrey page, reviewed Oct 21, 2026 How it decides
What the rows agree on
Each block and row is one graded row from the Comfrey page, with its PubMed record.
Your question
Comfrey and sprains
3 rows · 509 peopleThey agree: all 3 rows found an improvement.
- BGrade B× 2
- CGrade C× 1
- Rows
- 3
- Trials
- 3
- People
- 509
What the rows share
From the rowsThe best-graded row, grade B, is a randomized trial of 164 people (2005) and found an improvement.
The rows run from 142 to 203 people, published from 2004 to 2005: 3 single studies.
The rows
3 improved- BGrade BAnkle sprain pain: comfrey ointment vs diclofenac gel · Improved
RCT · n 164 · 2005 · Outpatients with an acute one-sided ankle sprain (mean age 29.0, 47.6% women)
A 6 cm layer four times a day · 7 ± 1 days
Comfrey ointment was confirmed non-inferior to diclofenac gel for pain on pressure (the confidence interval lay entirely above the non-inferiority margin), and the primary and secondary results suggested it may be superior.
- BGrade BPain and swelling after an acute ankle sprain (vs placebo) · Improved
RCT · n 142 · 2004 · Adults with an acute one-sided ankle sprain (mean age 31.8, 78.9% men)
Four applications a day · 8 days
Comfrey was clearly superior to placebo for pain on pressure (p < 0.0001, primary outcome) and ankle swelling (p = 0.0001), and also for ankle mobility and global efficacy. No adverse drug reactions were reported.
- CGrade CAnkle sprain pain and function: 10% vs 1% herb cream · Improved
RCT · n 203 · 2004 · Patients with acute ankle distortion in a multicentre trial
Topical cream as directed in the trial · About 7 days
With the 10% cream, pain on movement, pain at rest and functional impairment fell significantly more than with the 1% cream on days 3 to 4 and day 7 (p < 0.001), and swelling improved more by day 3 to 4. Efficacy was rated good to excellent in 85.6% vs 65.7%.