Study examines arthritis therapies
Updated on 10 February 2009
Many complementary therapies and medicines have no effect on rheumatoid arthritis, according to a new report.
An analysis of published data on the effectiveness of different therapies found that many made no difference to symptoms.
Almost half (46%) of people turn to complementary medicine at some point in their lives, spending over £450 million a year on acupuncture, chiropractic, homeopathy, hypnotherapy, medical herbalism and osteopathy, the report said.
People with arthritis and similar conditions are particularly attracted to the medicines, with 60% of sufferers admitting they have tried or use a variety of products.
The study, from the Arthritis Research Campaign, looked at the available evidence for rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia, which causes widespread muscle pain.
Experts ranked the therapies from 1 to 5, with 1 meaning evidence exists to suggest the compound is not effective while 5 indicates there is consistent evidence that the compound is effective. For people with rheumatoid arthritis, the medicines researched scored poorly, with 13 out of 21 complementary medicines (62%) scoring just 1 point.
Fish body oil - which is derived from the tissues of fatty fish like sardines, sprat, salmon, and mackerel - scored a maximum 5 for effectiveness among people with rheumatoid arthritis. It also received a "green light" for safety, according to the study.
For people with osteoarthritis, the therapies fared better, with only six out of 27 (22%) scoring 1 point. A therapy called phytodolor and the nutritional supplement S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe), both received a 4 for effectiveness.
Capsaicin gel, made from chilli peppers, proved the most effective, scoring the full 5 points. Glucosamine - one of the most widely taken products - worked in some trials but not others.
The report found that the evidence is stronger for glucosamine sulphate (which scored 3) compared with glucosamine hydrochloride (which scored 1). Only four products were assessed for fibromyalgia but none of them were highly effective, with three medicines scoring 2 out of 5, and the fourth scoring 1.
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