Does Glucosamine/Chondroitin sulfate actually work?

[OakLeaf]

Off the top of my head, I think the only studies that have been done on whether it rebuilds cartilage have concluded that it does rebuild knee cartilage. Studies on other joints have been equivocal or have concluded that it's ineffective.

ETA: here's a summary of one... http://cme.medscape.com/viewarticle/471971
here's another... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11214126

Joint space and the condition of cartilage correlate poorly with pain, so it's no surprise that results have been mixed on whether glucosamine relieves pain. (The most recent article was in the NYT this week, but it focused on back pain, which has very little relation to cartilage in any case.) But I think that anything that protects your joints is good, whether or not it helps with pain.

I've tried other things (MSM, SAM-e) that have not worked for me, so I doubt it's a placebo effect. (FWIW, SAM-e also drove my blood pressure sky high, but my blood pressure is pretty sensitive to all kinds of things.)


Also, my dog had excellent results in her mobility and manifestations of pain from Adequan (which is an injectable similar to glucosamine), but little if any effect from oral glucosamine. I don't know why there's no injectable for humans, but I doubt the dog was getting a placebo effect (especially considering the shots were IM and not very comfortable for her).

[Eden]

I've also seen scientific evidence that it doesn't work - though I used to give it to my old arthritic cat and it did seem to help him. When he was getting it he would be able jump up onto the couch, when he wasn't he never did..... (and he certainly wasn't subject to the placebo effect... though I suppose I could have been on his behalf....)

[bmccasland]

My doc was of the position that it works for some people, try a bottle of 30-days worth, if you feel a difference, continue, if you don't, then stop and don't waste your money. Some people have said it takes 60-days. And just because it works for horses doesn't mean it'll work on humans.

[Zen]

I think it has finally been proven to be ineffective.