It is widely believed that wrist arthritis can be eased through the wearing of copper bangles and that arthritis does not occur in those knuckles close to a gold ring (i.e. wedding ring.) Arthritis is a common problem to many elderly and middle-aged people and can be extremely painful. Some people try to ease it’s pain by wearing the afore mentioned copper bangles. These are clearly visible and some men who wear them are asked offensive questions about their sexuality and the bangles can be a pain in the arse if they are being worn on the same wrist as a watch. My proposal is “arthritis clothing”. The clothing would appear to be normal but fixed into the cloth at the positions of joints such as wrist and elbows would be a copper strip. This strip would be almost invisible to the untrained eye and provide a soothing relief from arthritis. The strips could also be built into the clothing of younger people, even children. As the old adage says, prevention is better than cure.
(Disclaimer: Copper has not scientifically been proved to cure or reduce the pain of arthritic condition, but is still widely believed to help. Judge this idea on its purpose, not it’s scientific merit)-- talen, Jan 07 2003 Copper Patch http://www.halfbake...idea/Copper_20Patchclose [FarmerJohn, Oct 04 2004] Magnetic Clothing http://www.allabout.../Magnet_Therapy.xml [Shz, Oct 04 2004] B-Cell depletion therapy http://arthritis.ab...l/a/remissionra.htmThe best treatment yet (still a way off though) [wagster, Oct 07 2004] Venom therapy http://www2.shore.n...rum/apitherapy.html [2 fries shy of a happy meal, Oct 07 2004] The biochemistry of copper http://lpi.oregonst...er/minerals/copper/This idea is baked more than half. The copper-dependent enzyme, lysyl oxidase, is required for the maturation (cross-linking) of collagen. Copper deficiency is not rare. One symptom of bad collagen synthesis is joint pain. Skin absorption is the best way to get copper. It's not clear that the copper needs to be near painful spots. Skin absorption gets the copper into the bloodstream, through which it is delivered for collagen synthesis everywhere in the body. [DaveYost, Jul 07 2006] On the subject of the link: *&%$£^&%&!!! I screwed up again.-- talen, Jan 07 2003 <amusing vision of people wearing copper chain mail to relieve arthritis>
Magnets are also supposed to help aren't they?-- madradish, Jan 07 2003 The folks manning the metal detectors at airports and government buildings are going to have a field day with all the strip searches this is likely to cause. I imagine that your hidden copper strips are likely to appear identical in signature to any other secreted weapon or wired bomb device.-- jurist, Jan 07 2003 I hope no one brings up the idea of me working for Al Queda again. But if these clothes sent the metal detectors wild they would probably be more chance of catching those with actual bombs, gun, and e.t.c.-- talen, Jan 07 2003 I'll stick to range of motion and strengthening exercises for now, thanks. That said, this is probably as good an idea as the copper bracelets.-- half, Jan 07 2003 [talen], I can't believe my throwaway comment is still eating you. Please accept my apologies.
I have to say IMHO this is your best so far. Croissant for altruism and practicality. A world away from your early blow everything up days.-- egbert, Jan 07 2003 [egbert] What throwawy coment?
[waugsqueke] You are greatly mistaken for it is not only the elderly that suffer arthritis-- talen, Jan 07 2003 [talen], the Al Quaeda thing.
[waugs], magnets are not meant to cure anything, they simply alleviate pain temporarily. It works. Anyone that claims any more than this is speaking untruths. Don't know about the copper thing, but I've met too many reputable people who claim it helps to dismiss it.-- egbert, Jan 07 2003 [Note to all] This is not a scam it is a genuine attempt to help people alleviate suffering and pain without resorting to using cannabis.-- talen, Jan 07 2003 My dad swears by copper bracelets for his arthritis, while my mom says they don't do squat.
She is considering trying the bee venom route.-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jan 07 2003 On a deep sea fishing trip with a friend who consistently suffers from motion sickness, he buys a wrist band (on board) which he is told will alleviate all symptoms. Long after the point where he would normally get sick…
Friend: This thing can’t possibly do anything. Me: How do you feel? Friend: Fine. Me: Then it works.
I think a clinical study using placebo copper on the control group is needed to determine the psychological impact of believing that it works. But do you really want to know? If you do it may not work.-- Shz, Jan 07 2003 <I think a clinical study using placebo copper on the control group is needed to determine the psychological impact of believing that it works.>
Ditto. We have to determine the placebo effect. Well... the royal "we".-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jan 08 2003 /If [egbert] was the person who this worked for, then I would surmise that's about all the proof he/she would need //Thank you, bliss, I couldn't have put it better myself. As an addendum, the company that sold me the device let me try it on approval and was at pains to point out the non-cure aspect and also that they don't work for everyone. I know people who say it did nothing for them, does that constitute proof that they don't work?
/Eat more copper.//I tried but the galvanic reaction with my fillings hurt my teeth and I had to strap on my magnetic wrist band to alleviate the pain.-- egbert, Jan 08 2003 Aren't placebos illegal in hospitals now? I remember a story my mother told me, she used to give hypochondriacs injections of sterile water and they were right as rain in a few days. If something works why does some one ban it? Btw if you think about it long enough and look hard enough everything is a scam. Take democracy for example.-- talen, Jan 08 2003 I was hoping this might be a range of clothing that was easier to put on and take off than normal clothing. Getting dressed and undressed is often the most painful and drawn out part of the day for sufferers. [+] for sentiment [-] for practicality.-- wagster, Oct 07 2004 talen's profile page has benefitted greatly from the resurrection.-- calum, Oct 07 2004 Yes bee venom is supposed to help with certain types of arthritis and has been used since ancient times I've read. (sorry for the time lag [half]) Link.-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Oct 07 2004 I thought some of the pain was brought on in a similar way to "the bends" - Many sufferers feel much worse when the air pressure changes, so perhaps an articulated isobaric chamber might do the trick-- Dub, Jul 08 2006 random, halfbakery