Ethics of Unproven Treatments

An unproven treatment is one whose benefit has not been shown by adequate evidence, and offering, endorsing or advising on one raises questions of research ethics, consent and conflicts of interest.

Every sport and exercise medicine (SEM) clinician will be asked about one. The situation is genuinely difficult: the patient is often in pain and out of options, the treatment may be low risk, the clinician may believe it will help, and the alternative is the slow work of rehabilitation.

This page covers innovation and research, consent when a treatment is unproven, money and desperation, and advising an athlete who is going abroad. General consent principles are covered on the related consent page.