Is Copper Therapy Effective for Arthritis?

Since the 1970s copper bracelets (and more recently, copper socks) have been available to rheumatoid arthritis sufferers. Purportedly, the copper in the jewelry is absorbed by the body and has a therapeutic effect on the wearer. While I was looking for information for this post, I discovered the following facts about this practice:

According to WebMD and the Arthritis Foundation, the practice of wearing copper jewelry(or socks)
has NO therapeutic benefit.

A 1976 study I found in the NIH archives showed that subjects who wore copper containing products absorbed some copper through their skin over the course of wear. Symptom improvement was reported, but it could well be placebo effect.
Copper is an essential mineral. A small amount of copper in the diet is necessary for nutritional reasons. It does have anti-inflammatory properties but there's no evidence to support that taking copper supplements is beneficial to RA patients.

Sources: Arthritis.org; WebMD; NIH; Wikimedia

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