This is a gift for my father-in-law.
It is a supply of glucosamine and chondroitin for a whole year. He is
taking two tablets a day for the past year and he said he noticed a big pain relief in
his knee pain which is due to osteoarthritis. A lot of people ask my opinion about
glucosamine and chondroitin for osteoarthritis. In this video, I will give you my honest opinion. The scientific evidence is not too exciting,
but it seems that glucosamine and chondroitin have some role to play in the
treatment of osteoarthritis. So, let’s talk today about GLUCOSAMINE
AND CHONDROITIN FOR OSTEOARTHRITIS Osteoarthritis is a chronic, slow
progressing, insidious, disease of the cartilage that covers the bone surfaces.
We have cartilages in most of the joints of our body, including the knees,
hips, shoulders, elbows, fingers, temporomandibular joint and even in the spine.
This is the knee. The cartilage is this part that protects the bones
from rubbing against each other. When Osteoarthritis starts, it destroys
the cartilage and causes pain, stiffness, and deformity. When osteoarthritis
affects the spine, we call it spondylosis. Osteoarthritis is a progressive disease caused by
slow and microscopic inflammation. The destruction of the cartilage can be seen in x-rays like this.
Here is a knee. The Femur, the tibia and the fibula. You see the reduced space between
the femur and the tibia? That is because of the destruction of the protective cartilage.
Here is an x-ray of a hand with osteoarthritis, and we can see the deformities
caused by arthritis. Osteoarthritis is mostly
determined by your genetics, so if you have family members with osteoarthritis,
your chances are higher to develop this disease. But there are other factors that accelerate
the process, and include obesity, smoking, trauma to the joint and other joint
diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. We know that there are a few things that we can
do to slow the progression of osteoarthritis, and these include > regular
low-impact physical activity, weight loss, and adequate nutrition
with an anti-inflammatory diet. Scientists are trying to find a medication that
would stop the progression of osteoarthritis. We know that anti-inflammatories are effective
to reduce the pain from osteoarthritis. >These are medications like ibuprofen,
diclofenac, ketoprofen, and celecoxib. But we know that anti-inflammatories have side effects
like gastro-intestinal bleeding, and they are contra-indicated in people who have heart disease,
high blood pressure or kidney insufficiency. Scientists discovered that there is a
substance in the joint, called glucosamine, and it is important to maintain a healthy
cartilage. There is another substance called chondroitin that is a component of the cartilage.
So, it seems that if you ingest glucosamine, chondroitin, or both, the cartilages
in your body will become healthier. However, once the destruction of the
cartilage starts, it is very hard for the body to heal itself and make new cartilage.
We know that the cartilage is nurtured by the synovial fluid that is produced by the joint
capsule. And if we move that joint, more synovial fluid is produced, therefore, bringing
more natural nutrition to the cartilage. How does our body produce our own glucosamine
and chondroitin? The answer is movement. If we use the joint properly, with proper exercises, we
will produce our own glucosamine and chondroitin. I have another video where I show exercises
for osteoarthritis of the hips and knees, and I explain that Motion is Lotion.
But do we actually need to ingest more glucosamine and chondroitin to
nurture the cartilage in our joints? There are two types of glucosamine: glucosamine
sulphate that can be derived from natural sources like shellfish, but it can also be made in
laboratory. And the other type is glucosamine hydrochloride. Some clinical trials compared
one to another and did not find any difference in efficacy, however some people would suggest
that the natural sources are better absorbed by the body. However, people with allergies
to shellfish or seafood need to be careful. How much of glucosamine and chondroitin a
person need to take to feel the benefits? And for how long? Those are very good questions,
because it takes months for the benefits of the glucosamine and chondroitin to be noticed.
It is not like a painkiller that you take now and start feeling better in a few hours.
However, did you know that there are some people who should not be taking glucosamine?
I’ll talk about this at the end of this video. Regarding the dose, the person needs to
take 1500 mg of glucosamine per day, and 1200 mg of chondroitin per day. The studies that
showed beneficial effects for pain recommended for around 6 months. and it seems that taking them
together is better than only taking one. However, there are other studies that showed no real
difference from placebo. The results of various studies are conflicting.
So, how will you know if they work for you or not? Well, basically you
need to do a before-and-after trial on yourself. Always talk to your doctor or pharmacist
before you start taking these supplements. Before your first dose, you are
going to take a measure of your pain. You can download these 4 questions from a
document that I posted below this video. Go to the description of this video and check the
link to the FOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT PAIN INTENSITY. Don’t forget to print 2 copies, you will need one in 6 months from now.
Or you can get a piece of paper now and write these 4 questions:
Question 1) In the last 24 hours, rate your pain by circling ONLY ONE number
that best describes your pain at its worst: 0 is no pain and 10 is pain
as bad as you can imagine Question 2) In the last 24 hours, rate
your pain by circling ONLY ONE number that best describes your pain at its best, or the
least pain that you had in the past 24 hours: 0 is no pain and 10 is pain
as bad as you can imagine Question 3) In the last 24 hours, rate your pain by circling ONLY ONE number
that best describes your pain on average: 0 is no pain and 10 is pain
as bad as you can imagine Question 4) Rate your pain by circling ONLY ONE
number that best describes your pain right now: 0 is no pain and 10 is pain
as bad as you can imagine After you answer these questions, fold
this paper and put it inside an envelope. Date it. Fold the other paper, the blank
questions that you will need in 6 months from now. Store them in a place that you will remember.
Now you can start taking the glucosamine with chondroitin. Take them every day for 6 months.
Then you will complete the 4 questions again. How will you calculate if this treatment
has been effective for you or not? You will add all the numbers
that you gave before the trial, so let’s say that you said 10 to all
four questions. Your score before the trial of glucosamine/chondroitin is 40. Now, add
all the numbers that you gave after 6 months. Let’s say that your numbers are 8
for everything, the total is 32. You are going to get a calculator and divide
32 by 40, that is 0.8, or eighty percent. Now, you subtract 100% minus 80%, you get
20% pain relief. Twenty percent is the minimum that you need to achieve to say that
this treatment has been effective for you. Why 20%? That is the number the scientists chose
in the randomized trials to show that glucosamine and chondroitin was effective to reduce pain.
In a large, multicenter study conducted in the US, they set the threshold of 20% as the
minimum that a person had to improve to be considered a good response. In the
Glucosamine/chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial (GAIT) they found that 64% of people who
took glucosamine only achieved that threshold of 20% pain relief. That is good, isn’t it?
65% of people who took chondroitin sulphate only achieved that threshold. Wow!
What do you think happened when they gave both glucosamine hydrochloride and chondroitin
sulphate? The number of people was 67%. And with non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory celecoxib it was 70% Now, pay attention, what do you think was the
percentage of people that achieved the 20% pain relief with placebo? Placebo is a pill that
doesn’t contain any medicine in it, but the person thinks they are taking the real drug.
Well, it was 60%. In the same study, they found that the
group of people with more severe knee osteoarthritis responded better.
Among the group of people who had moderate-to-severe pain at the start of the
study, these are the proportion who had at least 20% pain reduction: 66 percent for glucosamine
only, 61 percent for chondroitin only, 79 percent for the two combined,
69 percent for celecoxib, 54 percent for placebo So, If your pain reduction is less than 20%,
you can stop wasting your money and invest on something else that might be much better, like
buying a high-quality extra virgin cold-press olive oil or buying a big cod fish and cooking
tonight, because those things contain healthy anti-inflammatory substances that we know are
very good to keep the cartilage healthy and happy. Both glucosamine and chondroitin are relatively
safe, which means they don’t cause serious adverse effects like non-steroidal anti-inflammatories or
opioids. However, glucosamine and chondroitin can interact with blood thinners like warfarin
or coumadin, and they can also affect blood sugars. there is some suggestion that they may
increase eye pressure, which could increase the risk of glaucoma. So, if you use warfarin, or
you have diabetes or glaucoma, it is better to avoid these substances or talk to your doctor
or pharmacist before you start using them. If you have another supplement that you would
like me to review in a video, just write down your suggestion in the comment box below. I already
have another video about Vitamin D and Magnesium. Please, don’t forget that this video
is for educational purpose only. If you have a condition that needs medical advice,
please talk to your doctor. And if there is an emergency, go to the nearest emergency department.
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Good bye.
