What's in raw cabbage leaves that alleviate pain when they are applied?

Question

A friend called to say that when she mentioned to a neighbor from Germany
that her knees, legs, and back had severe pain, the neighbor told her to put
raw cabbage leaves on them and wrap them with an ACE BANDAGE. My friend
did so on her knees; next morning the pain was gone.
When she mentioned this to another person from Greece, they said that
nursing mothers wrap their breasts in cabbage leaves when they're trying to
wean their baby and trying to dry up therit milk.

Answer 1

Nothing but the smell! It's so bad, it distracts you from the pain! lol
Seriously, the sites I saw were mostly devoted to relieving pain for nursing moms. I guess there's something in cabbage leaves that can even help pain from things like shingles!

There are many other herbs that relieve pain.

Answer 2

Cabbage contains many minerals: it is rich in calcium and potassium, and contains chlorine, iodine, phosphorus, sodium, and sulfur. Red cabbage has more calcium but slightly less of the other minerals than white or green cabbage.