Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)

Frequently Asked Questions

17. What are some examples of NIH-sponsored studies of CAM therapies for arthritis? - cont'd

In a study of the dietary supplements glucosamine and chondroitin in people with pain from osteoarthritis of the knee, the combination did not help the participants as a whole, but it did help a small group of people with moderate to severe pain. A follow-up study, showed that the supplements, together or alone, also appeared to fare no better than placebo in slowing the loss of cartilage in knee osteoarthritis.