REALLY?

Does wearing copper or a magnet really help reduce arthritis pain?

Many people use copper bracelets and magnetic wrist straps to alleviate the pain of arthritis, but a new randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study concludes they do not work.

British researchers picked at random 65 patients with rheumatoid arthritis to receive four treatments: wearing a powerful magnetic wrist strap; a weak magnetic strap; a nonmagnetic strap; and a copper bracelet.

Each patient wore each device for five weeks. The study appears in the September issue of PLoS One.

The patients reported pain levels using a visual scale and recorded how often their joints felt tender and swollen. Researchers used questionnaires to assess physical limitations and also tested for inflammation.

There was no statistically significant difference in any of these measures, regardless of which device patients were wearing.

Stewart J. Richmond, a researcher at the University of York who led the study, acknowledged that the devices could have some benefits as placebos. A placebo is a harmless pill, medicine or procedure that is known to be incapable of improving a patient’s physical condition - for example, a sugar pill given to someone with a chest cold. In the placebo effect, the patient’s belief that the treatment will improve things actually makes him feel better.

“People swear by these things,” Richmond said. “Is it ethically correct to allow patients to live in blissful ignorance? Or is it better to provide them with the facts ?”