It's important that you find out what any new treatment is supposed to do for arthritis. Scientists say a treatment works when it results in an improvement in one or more of the treatment goals for arthritis. You can use the following tip-offs to tell the difference between reports of unproven remedies and scientific studies. Works for all types of arthritis. There are over 100 types of arthritis and treatments vary for each kind.
Scientists test a new treatment on people with a specific type of arthritis.
These people are usually similar in age, sex, race and medical history. If you hear about a treatment that works for arthritis, ask what kind of arthritis the people in the study had. Uses case histories and testimonials Stories about a treatment that worked for only a few people are called case histories or testimonials. They often use the person's name and picture. Sometimes, they even cite stories from a large number of people.