There is very little scientific evidence to support the use of many complementary therapies in the treatment of arthritis and other musculoskeletal disorders, such as lower back pain, a new report has found.

The evidence-based report by Arthritis Research UK looked at the results of relevant clinical trials, which assessed the safety and effectiveness of 25 therapies.

According to the report's main author, Dr Gareth Jones of the University of Aberdeen, research suggests that the use of complementary therapies ‘is higher among people with pain or musculoskeletal conditions such as arthritis'.

In relation to effectiveness, each therapy was scored from one to five. One referred to therapies that showed little or no evidence of effectiveness and five referred to those with good evidence.

A therapy was considered effective if there were improvements in pain levels, disability or quality of life.

The report revealed that many of the complementary therapies had not undergone any clinical trials or were only tested in one study.

Furthermore, while some therapies were considered effective, this effectiveness did not cover all conditions. Meanwhile, some therapies produced little evidence that they offered any benefit to patients with any musculoskeletal disorders.

The therapies that were shown to be the most effective were:
-Yoga for back pain
-Acupuncture for lower back pain, osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia
-Massage for lower back pain and fibromyalgia
-Tai chi for osteoarthritis.

However in relation to rheumatoid arthritis - a painful disease of the joints which currently affects 40,000 Irish people - very little research had been carried out into complementary therapies. Where research had been carried out, most of the therapies scored just one on the effectiveness scale.

Meanwhile, very little evidence was found to support the use of common therapies, such as copper and magnetic therapy, in the treatment of any musculoskeletal disorder.

For more information on rheumatoid arthritis, see our Clinic here