Do glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate reduce arthritis pain?
Many people use glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate as a natural therapy to treat their arthritis pain. This seems like a reasonable thing to do since glucosamine is a critical building block for cartilage, and chondroitin can help keep joints properly hydrated. And as we know, osteoarthritis is caused by joint wear and tear and decreased cartilage health.
Unfortunately, the research results have been fairly underwhelming.
Here is how one author* summarized the latest research:
“It seems prudent to tell our patients with symptomatic osteoarthritis of the knee that neither glucosamine hydrochloride nor chondroitin sulfate alone has been shown to be more efficacious than placebo for the treatment of knee pain. If patients choose to take dietary supplements to control their symptoms, they should be advised to take glucosamine sulfate rather than glucosamine hydrochloride and, for those with severe pain, that taking chondroitin sulfate with glucosamine sulfate may have an additive effect. Three months of treatment is a sufficient period for the evaluation of efficacy; if there is no clinically significant decrease in symptoms by this time, the supplements should be discontinued. Furthermore, there is no evidence that these agents prevent osteoarthritis in healthy persons or in persons with knee pain but normal radiographs.”
So I guess the bottom line is that these supplements are no magic cure for knee pain – they aren’t known to be harmful (except to the wallet) but they aren’t sure to be helpful either.
*Hochberg, Marc C.
Nutritional Supplements for Knee Osteoarthritis — Still No Resolution
N Engl J Med 2006 354: 858-860
Val Jones is a licensed practitioner of Rehabilitation Medicine and Senior Medical Director of Revolution Health’s portal. No information in this blog is intended to diagnose or treat any condition. The opinions expressed here are Val’s and do not necessarily reflect those of Revolution Health.This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
