I was wonder who has used Glucosamine and or Chondrointen and or MSM for joint issues. How would rate the effectiveness of the protocol you used?
i had a really bad right shoulder from playiong football for years, i started taking glucosamine and my shoulder feels preatty much what it should feel like for my age im only 20… it dosnt hurt to bench or do dips anymore in my opinion it si an essiental supp. for heavy lifting
Just a note, Doug Kalman did a great article on this topic for us. It should run in a week or two.
I use it, more for prevention purposes while training heavy.
Combination of glucosamine, chondrotin and MSM work great although it takes a while to see it working at full effect(2-4 weeks). I’d say it’s better alternative to tylenol or advil. Fish oils will help too. My fav is ArthRenew by Lindberg. It’s in the form of powder. it’s loaded with glucosamine sulfate, chondrotin sulfate, MSM, bromelain, bowellia , tumeric root extract, ginger rhizome extract, citamin c, and panthoenic acid. Sure beats taking 12 capsules a day when i can take 2 scoop and mix with water and drink them in one sitting and be done for the day. Another cheap supplement called gelatin (Knox) will work too but it’s hard to try to consume the plain stuff due to gelling effect in the water that gets stuck to the side of glass so i just pour one packet into my protein shake. I think it takes 10g a day for it to be effective so thats 2 packets a day. NOTE: that’s the same stuff that are used to make jello. Try all of them together and it’ll work like a miracle!
I take glucosamine hydrochloride, 2250mg three times/day with 3000mg of MSM. I think it makes a big difference but you have to take it for a while. I really notice anything until about 10 weeks into taking it.
I hope I don’t get flamed for this comment but…
I give glucosamine tabs twice a day to my dog. He’s about 10 and though in fine shape has some joint issues. I have to say its made a huge difference in how he seems to feel.
I also notice that if I miss a day of the glucosamine that he seems to be uncomfortable. So I’m a big fan of the stuff. Anything that keeps him out hunting with me is great. If I end up with joint issues I’ll take my tab along with him each morning.
Why would you get flamed about the dog dosing? Mine passed away a couple years ago, but for the last 3-4 years of his life he was on a glucosamine/chondrotin mix, and it definitely helped him. He had hip dysplascia (sp?), so he was definitely at the sore end of the spectrum without the gluco.
I actually give it to my dogs too, although they are both relatively young so it is more of a preventative measure at this point. But my receptionist has a 17 year old beagle with terrible arthritis and it makes such a huge difference for him.
I wondered if some of the guys would get annoyed by comparing my hound’s joint issues with human issues. That’s all.
I used to give the same thing to my dog and it got him really paranoid somehow. It scared me to death! he was hearing things that weren’t there and running around following the sounds and we couldn’t quite figure out what “sounds” he was hearing. I stopped giving it to him and he stopped hearing “sounds”. Weird…
What’s wrong with Glucosamine? Read this article by Cy Wilson and take what you want from it.
NESteele: “I wondered if some of the guys would get annoyed by comparing my hound’s joint issues with human issues. That’s all.”
Doesn’t bother me at all. Of course I’m from Alabama, so we pretty much consider dogs to be part of the family down here.
I just saw an ad in a magazine a few days ago for a g/c/msm supplement made just for pets, so you’re aren’t the first one to do that.
Personally, I’ve used glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM individually and combined and found that MSM seems to help me most if I’m only taking one of them, but taking all three together gives the best results.
Stacked,
There have been studies on glucosamine since Cy’s article which found that glucosamine did not influence glucose tolerance (I don’t have the references handy).
Thanks for all replies. Seems like pretty positive feedback. An orthopedist I know said only about 50% of takers respond to glucosamine. He recommened sticking with Ibuprofen…
Hey Shugs, any preview on the verdict of the article???
That 50% number may be correct, but did he tell you that ibuprofen can help the pain, but accelerate the cartilage destruction which causes the pain in the first place?
There are a number of substances which can be tried for osteoarthritis (Will brink has a review article on this on his site glucosamine, MSM, cetyl…myristolate sp?), and of course strengthening the appropriate muscles around the joint.
By the way, do you have a diagnosis for your “joint issues” so you know what you are treating, and have you seen a good PT?
No formal diagnosis. The same ortho said it was my AC joint (sort of ‘on top’ of my shoulder).
I hurt it while benching maybe 1 month ago, and it is still irritating me.
No, he didn’t tell me that about Ibuprofen…is this the case??? Crucial info…he said it was good for its anitinflammatory benefits.
Yes it is true about ibuprofen and osteoarthritis, but osteoarthritis is not your problem, so that side effect may not apply to you. The remedies I mentioned also do not apply.
To reduce inflammation you want what are called proteolytic enzymes (protein digesting). I am presently taking cytolyse to reduce swelling after my arthroscopic knee surgery 2 weeks ago and the results are amazing. It is available only to docs, but you can find it on the web (made by tyler), or use wobenzyme (there have been previous threads on this) which is very similar.
As far as adressing the underlying problem, you may need to adress the balance between pushing and pulling movements (are you benching more then you e.g. row?). Finding a really good physical therapist and/or an ART practitioner would also be helpful. Docs tend not to be too helpful for this kind of thing (and I are one).
Scott
Right Side Up, ScottL is dead on, on this one. In fact, anything he tells you along these lines you can pretty well take to the bank. He’s my go-to guy when I need an answer in the area of supplements and their affect on the body.
In addition to destruction of joint cartilage, NSAIDs inhibit protein synthesis. I won’t take Ibuprofen or Tylenol or Aleve under any circumstances.
I tore a ligement in my knee when I was 16. The doc said it was only a partial tear and that it wouldn’t require surgery. That knee bugged me for almost two years until I started takeing a sup that contained Glucosamine, Chondroitin, Tumeric and White Willow bark. It took 3 months but it did the trick very nicely.