Copper Debunked as Pain Reliever

When I was in high school in the late1940s and 50s all of us girls wore at least one copper bracelet. A good marketer had convinced us that copper, worn next to the skin, conveyed mysterious benefits to our health and well-being. Everyone I knew wore a copper bracelet convinced it would help ward off illnesses.

So what is the evidence of benefit from wearing copper? Writer Mindy Lucas reported on a presentation made on the subject by Shane K. Woolf, M.D., chief of sports medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina, on the alleged benefits of sports braces, cuffs and other products that contain copper.

Television and the print media are full of advertisements and celebrity endorsements claiming that copper offers pain relief for those suffering from arthritis and aching muscles. Three carefully done studies refute these claims.

Two were conducted by Stewart J. Richmond and colleagues. In 1999, according to Mandy Lucas, in a study that was randomized and placebo controlled, they found no therapeutic benefit from copper bracelets in terms of pain or stiffness in patients with osteoarthritis.

Richmond was also the lead author in 2013 of another study of copper in the form of copper-salicylate gel as a pain reliever in osteoarthritis of the hip and knee. Rather than a benefit, the study actually demonstrated a higher risk for adverse reaction such as skin irritation in the copper group and there was no therapeutic benefit.

Yet another high quality study by N.A. Shackel and colleagues from 1998 looked at copper-salicylate gel as a pain reliever for osteoarthritis of the hip and knee. This study demonstrated a higher risk for adverse reaction in the copper group than in the control. There was no therapeutic benefit.

Interestingly, Lucas reports that there is evidence that copper-coated surfaces, including parts of hospital rooms, patient gowns, sinks, and other areas do have a lower concentration of bacteria and viral particles than do other conventional surfaces. Go figure.

Woolf takes a measured approach to his patients and the question of copper. There is something to be said, he notes, for the effect of placebo and positive thinking about pain relief.

Most of the sports medicine and orthopedic research is clear that moderate activity and maintaining strength, motion, and flexibility are beneficial to reduce and prevent painful arthritis and muscles.

He said that he tells his patients who are interested in possible benefits from copper to spend a few bucks on a copper bracelet while staying active, and they will likely have at least some benefit, even if they forget to wear it.