The Placebo Effect

The placebo effect is when patient thinks something's happening and it may not actually be due to any active involvement. A study from University of Nottingham showed that the least amount of placebo effect in all our known medications was 50%. Paracetamol was something like 80% placebo, 20% active. If you were to treat 10 people with a sprain injury with Diclafanac gel, you'd expect 7 to 8 to get a 50% benefit - but if you just use placebo, then the figure's more like four or five out of 10. GSK says topical NSAIDs are significantly more effective than placebo for reducing chronic musculoskeletal conditions such as osteoarth