Dietary Ingredients Requiring Further Research Before Evidence-Based Recommendations Can Be Made for Their Use as an Approach to Mitigating Pain

source extracted confidence: high 2026-04-09
#chronic-pain #dietary-supplements #evidence-based-medicine #humans #military-personnel

Dietary Ingredients Requiring Further Research Before Evidence-Based Recommendations Can Be Made for Their Use as an Approach to Mitigating Pain

Crawford et al., 2019 | Pain Med | Systematic Review

Citation

Crawford Cindy, Boyd Courtney, ... Deuster Patricia. Dietary Ingredients Requiring Further Research Before Evidence-Based Recommendations Can Be Made for Their Use as an Approach to Mitigating Pain. Pain Med. 2019-Aug-01;20(8):1619-1632. doi:10.1093/pm/pnz050

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Approximately 55-76% of Service members use dietary supplements for various reasons; although such use has become popular, decisions are often driven by information that is not evidence-based. This work evaluates whether current research on dietary ingredients for chronic musculoskeletal pain provides sufficient evidence to inform decisions for practice and self-care, specifically for Special Operations Forces personnel. METHODS: A steering committee convened to develop research questions and factors required for decision-making. Key databases were searched through August 2016. Eligible systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials were assessed for methodological quality. Meta-analysis was applied where feasible. Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation was used to determine confidence in the effect estimates. The committee used a decision table to make evidence-informed judgments across decision-making factors and recommendations for practice and self-care use. RESULTS: Nineteen dietary ingredients were assessed. No recommendations were given for boswellia, ginger, rose hip, or s-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe); specifically, although ginger can be obtained via food, no recommendation is provided for use as a supplement due to unclear research. Further, there were insufficient strong research on boswellia and SAMe and possible compliance issues (i.e., high number of capsules required daily) associated with rose hip. CONCLUSIONS: No recommendations were made when the evidence was low quality or trade-offs were so closely balanced that any recommendation would be too speculative. Research recommendations are provided to enhance the quality and body of evidence for the most promising ingredients. Clinicians and those with chronic pain can rely on evidence-based recommendations to inform their decisions.

Key Findings

Nineteen dietary ingredients were assessed. No recommendations were given for boswellia, ginger, rose hip, or s-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe); specifically, although ginger can be obtained via food, no recommendation is provided for use as a supplement due to unclear research. Further, there were insufficient strong research on boswellia and SAMe and possible compliance issues (i.e., high number of capsules required daily) associated with rose hip.

Outcomes Measured

  • Requires manual extraction

Population

Field Value
Population See abstract
Sample Size See abstract
Age Range See abstract
Condition See abstract

MeSH Terms

  • Chronic Pain
  • Dietary Supplements
  • Evidence-Based Medicine
  • Humans
  • Military Personnel
  • Musculoskeletal Pain
  • Pain Management
  • Practice Guidelines as Topic
  • Self Care
  • Self-Management

Evidence Classification

  • Level: Systematic Review
  • Publication Types: Journal Article, Systematic Review
  • Vertical: ginger

Provenance

Source extracted via PubMed E-utilities API on 2026-04-09