Common acetaminophen painkillers have no more power to relieve osteoarthritis of the knee than a sugar pill.

The August 2004 issue of the Annals of the Rheumatic diseases report that common painkillers containing acetaminophen really don’t outperform placebos by any major stretch.

According to a report in the August 2004 issue of the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 779 people suffering from knee pain were involved in a study to research the power of acetaminophen. Half of the patients in the study were consistently given 4 grams of acetaminophen a day; the other patients were given an inactive placebo. The goal of the study was to see if either group was able to reach at least 30 percent pain reduction.

After six weeks of administering acetaminophen and sugar pills, researchers interviewed the patients. It turns out that 52.6 percent of people in the acetaminophen group were able to reach at least 30 percent relief. Interestingly enough, 51.9 percent of people in the placebo group were able to reach the same level of pain relief while taking an inactive placebo. That’s a difference of only .7 percent.

To help maintain the health performance of our bodies, it’s important to abstain from taking as much medicine as possible, especially in circumstances where medication has been proven to be not helpful or even unnecessary.

[Source: ard.bmjjournals.com]

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