oilfreeandhappy

At around age 45, I was bicycling, playing basketball and tennis. My knees started aching a lot, and they would pop when I stood. I read a book about this combination, and started taking it. After about a month, no more problems. Seven years later - still no problems. I also cut out the basketball.

BradC

I gained a bunch of weight after highschool/beginning of college (went from 190ish to 247). My knees hurt like a son-of-a-b!tch after playing basketball. Took some Glucosamine/Chondroitin/MSM for a month or two, and had the same results as you. I also went back down to 185 lbs, which I am sure helped...but the pain went away before all the weight did.

I give it a thumbs up!

'nother

I have been interested in this allegedly magic stuff lately . . . I suffered many knee (patellar tendon) problems as a kid; they have been mostly gone as an adult, but I am now in a training program which is stressing the system a bit more (high resistance/low cadence) and those old skeletons are coming out of the closet.

Is there a good reference somewhere for dosage/frequency guidelines? Any side effects?

mx_599

i have read efficacious studies on these. they play an integral role in the extracellular matrix. more specifically proteoglycans and glycoproteins of the collagen and elastin matrix in joint tissues. so i could see ingestion of these compounds making it to their target tissues and being usefull.

any biochem majors feel free to jump in! my hole is getting deeper, and deeper

BryanW

No biochem major I, but I've been using it on and off since I knackered my left knee's PCL (and didn't bother having the surgery to fix it). I found that when I took it, the knee gave me much fewer problems than when I let it lapse. I've now been taking it for a couple of years straight and have no problems from that knee at all.

BTW, I've heard conflicting, supposedly expert, opinions about whether it's the glucosamine or the chondroitin that's actually doing the good.

mx_599

then you average the 2 and take both

SoonerBent

Again nothing scientific but I had popping, paifull knees until I started taking it. I use the stuff with MSM in it. Now they're much better. I don't know if it's really working or if it's just mental but either way it's worth my money.

SS

cchandler

I'm a believer. Before I started taking the stuff my ankles hurt so bad first thing in the morning that walking was very painful. 100% of the pain is now gone.

Itsjustb

I dunno about Glucosamine/Chondroitin (it does seem to work for me, but that's just me).

However, I DO know I like Mx_599's avatar! (Sorry, I couldn't resist).

Beej

'nother

Those who have responded (favorably or not) . . . was your pain muscular/tendon/ligament related, or more like arthritis (bone/cartilage)? Anyone know if this stuff is effective for tendonitis? You can leave the fifty-cent words out of your reply

mx_599

yeah, she's a cutie! quite the attention getter. that's kiera knightley, and Flavor of the Month for february...maybe march, and on into april. might have to bring her back for an encore in the summer

mx_599

fifty cent words?

no, i don't think it will be effective in your case so much. tendonitis is of different etiology if this is in fact what you have. however, i don't think it would harm you in anyway. you could try as an expensive prophylactic if you want. you never know.

i haven't got around to researching its use for prevention...have any of you done this??

BradC

Mine was more like an arthritic type of pain. My Dad (surgical nurse) told me what it was but I do not remember. I am not sure how it would work with tendonitis. Tendonitis is an inflammed tendon, right? What about an anti-inflammatory type of deal?

mx_599

i'd say so...often repetitive use injury.

clipped

i'm 57 and have been using glucosamine for at least ten years now. it seems like it works for some people and not for others. i took alot of ibuprofen, but needed less to none after taking it for awhile, and eventually went to the plain, cheapest glucosamine. i do alot of biking and a fair amount of walking, but at 240 or so, running has been out for some time now.

Angus

I've been using a glucosamine-chondrotin cocktail for the past six weeks, and I've seen no improvement at all. None.

mx_599

what are you taking it for?? it can take awhile and needs to be taken consistently. i'd say if after 3 months you do not notice anything than you might want to stop, or investigate it's preventative usefulness

'nother

Chondromalacia patellae? Surprised mx_559 didn't come up with that one already



Right. I already take an anti-inflammatory (ibuprofen) but it has the unfortunate side-effect of raising blood pressure, which is not good for someone who already has high blood pressure. That's why I'm curious about this stuff, if it's effective I'd prefer to get on something that doesn't mess with BP so much.

mx_599

oh... i never go outside my realm of knowledge

Miller2

My doctor says "take it...wont hurt you but most likely wont help". Apparently there is really no medical evidence that this stuff works. From what I understand it must be taken for a long time before it has any alleged positive effects.

BryanW

Clinical trials have been done on this stuff (you can find loads about them on the net). Mostly for osteoarthritis. The larger, methodologically sounder trials did show less impressive results than the smaller ones, but still significantly better than placebo.

banerjek

I swear by the stuff. I got turned on to it when it helped a dog that belonged to one of my friends. Although I'm a bit leery of anecdotal evidence, dogs are less susceptible to the placebo effect than humans, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

I hadn't been able to stand on the pedals for over 20 years, and now I can stand for miles on end. Also, 2 years ago, I quit using knee braces that I'd been riding with for the previous 18 years. It took about 2-3 months before I noticed any difference.

No supplement is a substitute for proper training and setting up your bike properly. I have found that adjusting my cleats 2 degrees the wrong way can be the difference between excruciating pain and a very comfortable ride. I should also say that my technique is much better than it used to be. Still, I think the glucosamine/chondroitin combo helps.

Miller2

Well I did take it for 2 years to help with a hip problem and it did nothing for that, nor did I notice any improvements in my other joints so I'd have to say my doctor was correct in his assessment.

Mee

I had seen some anecdotal evidence about Glucosamine and did some internet research.
It seems from what I've read and input from a couple of medical professionals, including my dog's vet who had published papers regarding its efficacy with dogs, that the Glucosamine component seems to be more effective than the Chondroitin.
The Chondroitin appears to increase the Glucosamine's efficacy, but the vet said (paraphrase) "If you're on a budget, focus on Glucosamine".
Apparently Chondroitin is much more expensive than Glucosmine, and ongoing studies seem to indicate that the optimum amount of Chondroitin in the mix appears to be much lower than previously thought.

I also learned that the most effective form of Glucosamine is 'Glucosamine Sulfate', as opposed to other formulations which I've forgotten.
Recommended dosage varies a bit, but 2000mg daily, split to 1000mg, 2X/day seems to be generally agreed by most sources (for human consumption).
It's interesting that the recommended dosage of Glucosamine has followed a trend of increasing, as well as Mg per Lb recommendations becoming essentially irrelevent except in extreme cases (very light weight or very heavy >250lbs persons).

There is also another ingredient which I've currently forgotten that is increasingly being recommended for use in conjunction with Glucosamine in order to increase the efficacy.

Bottom line seems to be:
Glucosamine Sulfate, 2000mg/day (1000mg twice daily).
Everything else appears to be less crucial.

My personal experience:
Long time cyclist; diagnosed with Chondromalacia Patellea and Patella Tendonitis many years ago, as well as some cartilage & meniscus problems for many years.
In the last 2-3 years I've also had chronic pain in the MCL & LCL ligaments (probably results of football & hockey as a teen).

After my research and a long discussion with my dog's vet whom I consider fairly an expert in this area, I decided to try Glucosamine.
To be honest I was a bit skeptical, and fully aware of the psychological influences of psychomatics and placebos.
I went with 100% Glucosamine Sulfate, with no other active ingredients, in order to preserve the purity of my personal tests, and eliminate as many variables as possible.
I chose the dosage of 2000mg/day (2 X 1000mg), taken with morning coffee and after dinner each evening, for 60 days, then stopping the Glucosamine for 30 days to assess the results.

As I said I was skeptical.
To make a long story (somewhat...) short - I'm now a believer!

While taking the Glucosamine, I noticed significant improvement and dramatically less symptomology after about 30 days.
NO NOTICEABLE internal (cartilage/meniscus) pain, even with running and jumping - Previously verbotten activities for many years.
The ligament & tendon pain was also noticeably reduced, but I would say not eliminated as completely as in the cartilage & meniscus.

I also noticed that certain movements of the knee which previously would have resulted in re-injury, went all but unnoticed by my knees.

I'm just now at about 45 days (I lapsed) without Glucosamine, and am clearly feeling the exact same pains and problems I have known for years prior to using Glucosamine.
It's time to get back on the stuff, this time on an ongoing basis.

My observations:
It works as advertised (for me), but it seems that usage must be regular and ongoing to really experience the benefits.

I also dosed my dog (50lb APBT - American Pit Bull Terrier) with 1000mg/day (1x/Day) during the same period.
She has been clearly experiencing ongoing joint pain and mobility difficulties since bilateral ACL repair about 3 years ago.
Her symptomology seemed obviously improved, and she simply seemed to be happier and in less pain.

I'm convinced.
Oh - It does not seem to help my lower back (HNP, L4-L5), which is also consistent withh all medical studies I've seen.

mx_599

yeah...i might have to take back what i said before (i was just going by studies i read about 5 yrs ago)

i just spoke with one of my Biochemistry professors about an hour ago and he was pretty skeptical and had good reasoning that i didn't consider before. we both agreed that we would need to see long term studies.

if you have the money, it should not be bad for you