Cissus quadrangularis is a medicinal plant that has been used in India to expedite fracture healing.¹Itis commonly known as the "Bone Setter." Also known as Hadjod in Hindi, it finds mention in ancient Ayurveda texts as a general tonic, particularly for patients with fractures.^1,2

Arawatti and colleagues³ conducted a study to evaluate the effect of Cissus quadrangularis Linn. in the management of Colle’s fracture. Investigators selected 30 clinically diagnosed patients of Colle’s fracture whowere randomly divided into three groups of 10 patients each - Group A received only external application, Group B was treated with only internal application while Group C was treated with both external and internal application of the drug.

In the trial, the incidence of Colle’s fracture was more common in females. The most common signs and symptoms included pain, swelling and tenderness. After 6 weeks of treatment, % relief in pain in Group A, B and C was 42.85 (p< 0.005), 73.33 (p< 0.001) and 84.61 (p< 0.001), respectively (Fig. 1). The % reduction in swelling was 35.71 (p< 0.01), 76.92 (p< 0.001) and 64.28 (p< 0.001), respectively (Fig. 2), and the % reduction in tenderness was 38.09 (p< 0.001), 27.27 (p< 0.01) and 60 (p< 0.001), respectively (Fig. 3).Callus formation was good in Group C in comparison with Groups A and B.

Intergroup comparison suggested that group C experienced better relief in the symptoms. No side effects were reported by the patients during treatment. It was thus concluded that C. quadrangularis is safe and effective in the management of Colle’s fracture, is cost-effective and does not cause any side effects.

References

1. Singh N, Singh V, Singh R K, Pant A B, Pal U S, Malkunje LR, Mehta G. Osteogenic potential of cissus qudrangularis assessed with osteopontin expression. Natl J MaxillofacSurg 2013;4:52-6.
2. Brahmkshatriya HR, Shah KA, Ananthkumar GB, Brahmkshatriya MH. Clinical evaluation of Cissusquadrangularis as osteogenic agent in maxillofacial fracture: A pilot study. Ayu. 2015 Apr-Jun; 36(2): 169–173.
3. Arawatti S, Jain N, Nirmalkar U, et al. Management of Colle’s fracture by Asthishrankhala (CissusquadrangularisLinn): A clinical study. IRJP 2012;3(10):164-8.