text_1: Chondroitin of little help for arthritis, study says
text_2: This succinct story – only 348 words – nicely captures the main message of new research showing that the nutritional supplement chondroitin is no better at relieving arthritis pain than placebo. It includes good sources and makes clear that chondroitin, though not proven to be effective, is also not harmful. But the story might help the reader evaluate the evidence if it explained a little more. For example, the authors of the analysis found that the effect of chondroitin on pain was equivalent to an improvement of 0.6 millimeters on a 10-centimeter scale—extremely tiny. This piece of data would have provided readers with a quantifiable estimate of non-efficacy. The story also neglects to note that there are other nonsurgical therapies that can help. Though there is no cure-all for osteoarthritis, conservative care include analgesics, exercise and physical therapy, devices such as canes and braces, and other strategies.