Complementary therapies

Complementary and alternative medicine refers to a wide range of therapies and practices which are outside the mainstream of medicine.

This section discusses the main complementary and alternative therapies for arthritis.

• Introduction to complementary and alternative medicine – learn more about the differences between complementary and alternative medicine and conventional medicine.
• Acupuncture – a pain relief method that involves inserting fine needles at specific points in the skin.
• Herbal medicine – uses plants and plant extracts to treat disease.
• Hypnosis – a deeply relaxed state in which you are given therapeutic suggestions to encourage changes in behaviour or relief of symptoms.
• Magnet therapy – a form of therapy that involves placing magnets or magnetic devices on the skin to relieve pain.
• Manipulative therapies – including chiropractic, osteopathy and manual medicine.
• Relaxation – including visualisation, autogenic training, meditation and yoga.

Our authoritative report

Arthritis Research UK's report Complementary and alternative medicines for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia aims to help you choose which complementary medicines may be beneficial for you.

It is an evidence-based report from randomised controlled trials – the type of studies that give the best evidence on whether treatment is effective or not. The report focuses on compounds taken by mouth or applied to the skin.

Find out more about how the report graded each compound in terms of effectiveness and safety.

Read entire article »