You may be wasting your money on supplements for athritis relief
October 5, 2008 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
Glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate are popular nutritional supplements among many people with osteoarthritis. The claim is the supplements help slow the rate of cartilage loss in the joints – usually the hip or knee.
A new study has found though, that after 2 years of taking the dietary supplements, patients showed no improvement over those who took placebos. The results were published in the most recent edition of Arthritis & Rheumatism. An estimated 21 million people in the United States have osteoarthritis.
An earlier study, published in 2006 in the New England Journal of Medicine, reported that patients taking glucosamine didn’t have any less pain that those who took placebo, although there was significant pain relief among patients who took glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate.
~~~~
Image: iStock
Tags: chronic pain blog, pain blog, glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, nutritional supplements, osteoarthritis, dietary supplements for arthritis, arthritis relief
That’s good to know! Did you also read the article in the same issue suggesting that the pain and inflammation associated with arthritis at one joint may be able to spread to other joint through a neuro-inflammatory process which may transmit signals to the spinal cord and brain and then back to other joints? I found that very interesting, and maybe a good new target for stopping the spread of arthritis. What do you think?
Hi Kristen – Yes, I did read that. It’s a very interesting idea and has some good potential, I think.
I’m quite curious about how this may also play a role in juvenile RA – if it’s the same process or something completely different.