Effectiveness of leech therapy in chronic lateral epicondylitis: a randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: Leech therapy has been found to be effective in osteoarthritis of the knee and hand in previous trials. Chronic epicondylitis is a prevalent pain syndrome with limited treatment options. In this study, we tested whether leech therapy would be beneficial in the symptomatic treatment of chronic lateral epicondylitis.

Effectiveness of leech therapy in women with symptomatic arthrosis of the first carpometacarpal joint: a randomized controlled trial.

Leech therapy has been shown to be effective for symptomatic treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee. We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of leech therapy in another type of osteoarthritis, osteoarthritis of the first carpometacarpal joint (thumb saddle joint). Thirty-two women with symptomatic painful osteoarthritis of the first carpometacarpal joint and who scored>40 mm on a 100mm VAS pain scale were randomized to a single treatment with 2-3 locally applied leeches (leech group) or a 30-day course with topical diclofenac twice a day.