In the leech therapy group,patients’ mean Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index pain scores were reduced from 53.5 + 13.7(n ¼ 24) to 19.3 + 12.2 (n ¼ 24), after 1 week, compared with a reduction from 51.5 + 16.8 (n ¼ 27) to 42.4 + 19.7 (n ¼ 26)in the diclofenac group.