Glucosamine Chondroitin & MSM...do they work?

[cheapie]

I am beginning to have some knee problems that started after a bad bike trip. I have been told that it's likely ligament damage. also i have had achilles problems as well. some biking forums suggest this stuff to heal/maintain my joints. has anyone taken it and have good/bad opinions?

also, does it matter which brand i buy?

[MikeD]

I am beginning to have some knee problems that started after a bad bike trip. I have been told that it's likely ligament damage. also i have had achilles problems as well. some biking forums suggest this stuff to heal/maintain my joints. has anyone taken it and have good/bad opinions?

also, does it matter which brand i buy?

I can't offer advice on whether or not the supplement works, but I can tell you that in my experience (as it pertains to other supps), YES it does matter which brand you buy.

I've heard good stuff about the glucosamine. Just haven't taken it myself...

[Airencracken]

The Glucosamine/chondrotin/msm combo works pretty well, for me. Since I've started taking it I don't have days where I can't walk on my right knee anymore.

[Kevster]

I take Cosamin DS (http://www.nutramaxlabs.com/products/human/cosamin/index.asp) - it's available at Costco. It was initially recommended by my Orthopaed, and it has done wonders for my knee, especially since I had to have about 50% of my medial meniscus removed because of a tear.

[cheapie]

hmmm...the miniscus is the prob w/my knee as well.

[zippyjuan]

It is mostly for helping cartledge in the joints. It is one of the few suplements that has been shown to be beneficial as claimed. Here is a good article on it: http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/fact/thr_report.cfm?Thread_ID=219&topcategory=Knee

[nickel]

if you were a horse we'd have to *ahem* dispose of you. :P

are there any specific excercises you could do to help your knee?

[cheapie]

if you were a horse we'd have to *ahem* dispose of you. :P

are there any specific excercises you could do to help your knee?


yes.....http://www.littleboyinc.com/uploader2/files/kick/buttkick.gif

care to help me with my therapy?

[nickel]

yes.....http://www.littleboyinc.com/uploader2/files/kick/buttkick.gif

care to help me with my therapy?
lol @ that smilie :laugh:

beer. beer will help. m'be this is WHY you are having this problem in the first place.... yes... it could be from LACK of beer.

the healing powers of beer, i wonder if anyone has written that book yet?

[ialsohaveadream]

I've never taken the supplements, but I know a lot of runners who have had knee and joint problems rave about them. Just order them off of vitaminshoppe or amazon or something and use crazy coupons to get them for cheap. :)

[booger73]

yes it works.

[cheapie]

sweet. now i'm going to try and get them "the cheapie way". lol.

[LegendKiller]

Interesting, I'll have to check this stuff out. My pain has gone down a lot since last year but I sitll get it.

[brainsmile]

just cut it off

[LPMiller]

Glucosamine and Chondroitin pretty much saved my life.

Glucosamine rebuilds cartilidge in joints, and helps prevent damage. This is excellent for me, as with my bleeding disorder, my cartilidge was falling apart.

Chondrotin reduces and helps with joint pain.

I've been taking them for about 2 years now, and my joints, while not perfect, are a crapton better, and I've gone from daily pain to every so often pain. I'm also taking it because we have a strong family history of arthitis, and some studies seem to show that glu can slow that down.

However, MSM hasn't been shown to do anything, and some studies seem to think it may actually be harmful. To be safe, avoid products that include all 3.

Brand does matter, but my research seems to show that oddly enough, generic target and generic cvc brands are actually pretty good. I have found that if I go with a 2 time a day brand, after one month of doing the twice a day dosage, I can go down to 1 a day and stay there to maintain. In fact, after I stopped for a bit, it took a good 3 months for my symptoms to act back up.

[cheapie]

if it rebuilds, why would the symptoms resurface?

[LegendKiller]

I always thought the body couldn't regrow cart but it could repair damaged to make it healthier.

[ooBaKeep]

I used Glucosamine years ago when I had 4 small stress fractures from overuse below my knee. I found it to be very helpful. My physician suggested it.

If you're diabetic or limit sugar intake definately check with your doctor before taking this. Not a wise idea.

[riskykougra]

And still try to excercise because the stronger you are the better you will feel no matter what you take.

[LPMiller]

if it rebuilds, why would the symptoms resurface?

because I have a bleeding disorder, and am constantly bleeding into my joints.

[cheapie]

yikes. that sounds.....yucky.

[kgsilvas]

They helped my dog and my dad. Haven't had to use it yet myself.

[cheapie]

just ordered some from vitaminshoppe. about 2.5 months supply. we'll see how it works.

[brainsmile]

ah a new guinea pig

[zippyjuan]

Don't expect to see a difference right away. When I use it it seems to take a few weeks. It takes time to rebuild the injured area.

[Daedalus]

I'll give it another go after reading this--didn't do anything for me the first time. My knee's worse than most though. No ACL, damaged meniscus, and scar tissue on the head of my femur where the articular cartiledge is.

[MasterRecca]

My Girlfriend has been having issues with her knees ever since she joined the air force. I would like to give her some Glusoamine and Chondrotin for her knees. You guys have any name brands or other suggestions for her to take?



Nm i saw the brand kevster uses I will try those first

[MasterRecca]

Hey guys whats a good place to buy this stuff and how much should it cost? The name brand that kevster uses costs like 50 bucks a bottle. Any recommendations?

[JaQnAbOx]

check out costco. My parents always picked up stuff like that when they are leaving the country. I guess its pretty cheap there

[Kevster]

Cosamin DS, the specific formula I take, has been used in many studies on cartiledge and OsteoArthritis. Here's an abstract from the 2005 annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology:

Linkage, type 622 in the search window at the top (http://www.abstractsonline.com/viewer/SearchResults.asp)

Title:

The Efficacy of Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate in Patients with Painful Knee Osteoarthritis (OA): The Glucosamine/chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial (GAIT)
Category:

7. Osteoarthritis—clinical aspects
Author(s):

Daniel O. Clegg1, Domenic J. Reda2, Crystal L. Harris3, Marguerite A. Klein4, for the GAIT Investigators. 1University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; 2VACSP, Hines, IL; 3VACSP, Albuquerque, NM; 4NCCAM/NIH, Bethesda, MD
Presentation Number:

622
PURPOSE: Glucosamine (G) and chondroitin sulfate (CS) are widely promoted to “reduce joint pain and provide support for healthy cartilage and joint function.” GAIT was designed to rigorously assess the efficacy and safety of these agents alone and in combination. G and CS were required to meet pharmaceutical standards as GAIT was conducted under an Investigational New Drug application.
METHODS: Patients were ³40 years of age with knee pain (WOMAC Pain 125-400 mm) of at least 6 months duration and x-ray evidence of knee OA [Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) Grades 2 or 3]. Patients were randomly assigned double-blind to placebo (P); G(Glucosamine HCl 500 mg) tid; Sodium CS 400 mg tid; G+CS at the above doses tid; or celecoxib (CE) 200 mg daily. All patients were allowed up to 4000 mg daily of acetaminophen (APAP) as rescue analgesia, except within 24 hours of study visits. Allocation was stratified by Center and by WOMAC Pain severity (125-300mm and 301-400mm). Patients were evaluated at baseline and weeks 4, 8, 16 and 24. The primary outcome measure was a 20% improvement from baseline in WOMAC Pain at week 24. Adverse events were documented at each visit. Analysis was based on intention-to-treat.
RESULTS: 3238 patients were screened at 16 US academic rheumatology centers. 1583 were randomized and 1258 (80%) completed the study. Baseline characteristics were: mean age 58.6 years, BMI 31.7 kg/m2, OA symptoms 10 years, 64% female, summed mean WOMAC Pain 236±73mm (206mm for 125-300mm stratum, 341mm for 301-400mm stratum), 59% KL Grade 2, and 78% were in the 125-300mm WOMAC Pain stratum and were evenly distributed across all arms.
The response rate for CE (70.1%) was higher than the response rate for P (60.1%) in the primary outcome analysis of all patients (p=0.008). In the 301-400 mm WOMAC pain stratum, the response rate for G+CS (79.2%) was higher than P (54.3%) (p=0.002). Secondary outcomes in the 301-400 mm stratum, including 50% WOMAC Pain response, WOMAC Stiffness, WOMAC Function, HAQ, patient assessments, and use of rescue APAP all demonstrated changes consistent with the primary outcome. Adverse events were generally mild and evenly distributed among the groups.
Response Rates by Treatment Group and Pain Stratum
All patients WOMAC Pain 301-400mm WOMAC Pain 125-300mm
P 60.1% 54.3% 61.7%
CE 70.1%** 69.4%¶ 70.3%*
G 64.0% 65.7% 63.6%
CS 65.4% 61.4% 66.5%
G+CS 66.6%+ 79.2%# 62.9%
** p= 0.008 CE vs. P
+ p= 0.09 G+CS vs. P ¶p = 0.06 CE vs. P
# p = 0.002 G+CS vs. P * p= 0.04 CE vs. P

CONCLUSIONS: Combination G+CS is effective in treating moderate to severe knee pain due to OA. The lack of response in patients with mild pain may be due to a floor effect, limiting ability to detect response. All study agents were well tolerated.

MasterRecca, in Georgia you can find Cosamin DS at:
Bi-Lo
Concord Drugs, Inc.
Corley Drugs
Costco Pharmacies
CVS
DeCA Stores
Eckerd
Familymeds, Inc.
J.H. Harvey Co.
Medicap Pharmacies, Inc.
Medicine Shoppe
Moye's Pharmacy, Inc.
Publix Super Markets
Rite Aid
U-Save-It Pharmacy, Inc.
Vitamin Shoppe
Walgreens
WalMart

[JaQnAbOx]

Costco has it on sale - plus this week there is a coupon
Schiff Glucosamine plus MSM and/or Schiff Glucosamine $4 off
the coupon should be around the front door area