Devil's Claw and back pain

What 2 graded rows on devil's claw agree on for back pain, and where they differ. Counted side by side, never averaged.

Consensus finder Rows from the Devil's Claw page, reviewed Oct 21, 2026 How it decides

What the rows agree on

Each block and row is one graded row from the Devil's Claw page, with its PubMed record.

Supplement

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2 rows · 285 people

Split. 1 row found an improvement and 1 had mixed results.

Mixed

Improved

Each block is one evidence row, sized by how many people it enrolled, with its grade inside. Outlined: mixed results.

From the rows

The best-graded row, grade C, is a randomized trial of 197 people (1999) and found an improvement.

The rows run from 88 to 197 people, published from 1999 to 2003: 2 single studies.

1 improved · 1 mixed

Grade CPain-free days during a flare of chronic low back pain · Improved
RCT · n 197 · 1999 · Adults with chronic low back pain in an acute flare (pain above 5/10, Germany)
600 or 1,200 mg/day (50 or 100 mg harpagoside) · 4 weeks
Pain-free without rescue tramadol for 5 of the last 7 days: 3 on placebo, 6 on 600 mg and 10 on 1,200 mg (P=0.027, one-tailed trend test). Subgroup findings were inconsistent; only mild, infrequent stomach symptoms were possibly linked to the extract.
Row on the Devil's Claw page · PubMed 10101629 (opens PubMed)
Grade DLow back pain versus rofecoxib · Mixed
Pilot RCT · n 88 · 2003 · Adults with acutely worsened chronic low back pain (Germany)
Daily dose providing 60 mg harpagoside · 6 weeks
Pain-free and 50%-improvement counts were numerically similar to rofecoxib 12.5 mg/day with no significant differences; the authors say far larger trials are needed to show equivalence.
Row on the Devil's Claw page · PubMed 12509627 (opens PubMed)