Knee Pain Supplements Glucosamine and Chondroitin Do Not Help Knee Arthritis Symptoms or Do They?

These nutrients are essential for knee joint health and do over time protect, heal and slightly re-build knee cartilage with other essential nutrients. Everyone with knee arthritis and over the age of 30 should be taking these glucosamine and chondroitin in combination with other natural inflammatories.

Perhaps these ivory tower medical scientists would be better off not reading books and instead take natural anti-inflammatory supplements for their own knee joints. Here is the article from some researchers with their ill founded claims.

Glucosamine and chondroitin, two supplements commonly used to combat joint pain, do not relieve symptoms, researchers wrote in an article published in the BMJ (British Medical Journal). The two supplements are typically taken in combination or on their own in order to reduce pain in patients with knees arthritis.

The authors add that taking the supplements does not harm patients either; they are not dangerous for human health. Professor Peter Jüni at the University of Bern in Switzerland, said:

We see no harm in having patients continue these preparations as long as they perceive a benefit and cover the cost of treatment themselves. (However) Health authorities and health insurers should not cover the costs for these preparations, and new prescriptions to patients who have not received treatment should be discouraged.

Osteoarthritis of the knee or hip is a long-term (chronic) condition. Patients are usually prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs and painkillers - they can cause heart and stomach problems if taken for long periods.

The authors say that ideally, knee treatments should not only reduce pain, but also slow down the disease's evolution. Over the last ten years GPs (general practitioners, primary care physicians) and rheumatologists have been prescribing glucosamine and chondroit into patients with osteoarthritis of the hip or knee increasingly.

A significant number of patients buy the supplements over-the-counter (without a prescription). In 2008, $2bn dollars' worth of glucosamine supplements were sold worldwide; 60% more than in 2003. The authors found that previous trials on glucosamine and chondroitin had contradictory findings.

So, they decided to carry out a large scale review of studies in order to find out whether the supplements were effective. Professor Jüni and team examined the results of ten published trials with 3,803 patients - all of them diagnosed with osteoarthritis of the knee or hip.

The investigators assessed changes in levels of pain after taking the chondroitin, glucosamine or their combination with a placebo or head to head. No clinically relevant effect of glucosamine, chondroitin or their combination on joint pain or on joint space narrowing was found. Put simply - they did not work.

Well if they only help one in ten of course the study resutls will vary. Some patients are certain these supplements help their symptoms, the authors explain. The researchers believe this is probably due to the natural course of osteoarthritis or a placebo effect.

Really... or maybe they do work for them. They sure do for myself and some of my patients. The whole point is these nutrients are not enough by themselves.The authors concluded:

Compared with placebo, glucosamine, chondroitin, and their combination do not reduce joint pain or have an impact on narrowing of joint space. Health authorities and health insurers should be discouraged from funding glucosamine and chondroitin treatment.

"Effects of glucosamine, chondroitin, or placebo in patients with osteoarthritis of hip or knee: network meta-analysis" Simon Wandel, Peter Jüni, Britta Tendal, Eveline Nüesch, Peter M Villiger, Nicky J Welton, Stephan Reichenbach, Sven Trelle BMJ 2010; 341:c4675 doi: 10.1136/bmj.c4675 (Published 16 September 2010)