Someone here last year helped me a lot by guessing that the "bubbles"
on my end knuckles were the Ganglion Cyst complications of OA, (and
they were right). I tried about everything short of drugs and surgery
to manage them over the last 7 years.

All the hyped joint supplements didn't seem to phase the condition.
Recently,  I tried soaking them in hot water mixed w/ apple cider
vinegar. This seemed, by far,  to be the best topical relief I've found
(but drinking ACV didn't seem to make any immediate difference). I
tired a lot of topical lotions before, (though I haven't tried straight
hot water or paraffin to compare).

When I started looking more into plain "folk" remedies (as opposed to
exotic, costly supplements) I came across many references to Certo and
apple pectin.  I added a few 300mg apple pectin pills to my recent
Certo/grape juice regimen. While I won't be doing finger-tip pushups
again anytime soon, I got some some very quick, dramatic pain relief in
the last few days from adding this. (If, eventually, the ugly bumps
also recede, I will be quite happy!)

I know people can get flamed here for mentioning an "unproven remedy."
I also know all about placebos. But I certainly expected the more
expensive and specialized supplements to work before this simple stuff
would. In fact, I believe my subconscious is now just as pissed as my
normal consciousness after losing all this time, money and effort
looking for relief :-). Just as some people would only consider
expensive and risky "proven" prescriptions for their joint pains  -  I
would only consider the "latest and greatest natural" supplements for
mine. (BTW, my co-worker now tells me that her ex, an MD, also "swore"
by pectin).

Most references admit the evidence for pectin is anecdotal and can't
explain why it works for some. I've read some less conventional
speculation that pectin chelates, or mops up, "heavy metals"  in the
body that "somehow" cause arthritis.

I just today came across another, reasonable suggestion that pectin
somehow restores old, stiff or injured synovial tissue. This is quite
interesting considering how the cysts are caused by synovial leaks and
damage.

So, maybe pectin can work for some people, some of the time (esp. if
their symptoms are from synovial tissue damage). Vinegar and pectin are
cheap, ubiquitous, food commoditities - so no one will exactly be
making a mint from them.