Naturally Intense High Intensity Personal Training™ Blog

Can Glucosamine Stop Arthritis Pain?

Supplements are always a bit problematic in terms of figuring out what works and what does not. Often the placebo effect is so strong that it makes it very difficult to determine whether what you are taking really works or whether any positive benefit comes only from the power of suggestion. We have seen that the more advertising there is of a particular drug or product, the higher the placebo effect will be. One of the products that raises that question mark is glucosamine- a supplement used as a popular over the counter treatment for arthritis. I originally published an article in August of 2009 on the subject and I think given what we know of the increase in the placebo effect it should be revisited. Here is the original article updated to include some additional observations:

Over the past 20 years I have worked with a lot of individuals suffering with osteoarthritis. Many used glucosamine as a way of dealing with the often crippling pain that comes with osteoarthritis. Visit any supplement store and the people working there will give glowing reviews of the power of glucosamine in reducing the pain and inflammation caused by arthritis or any joint disorder. Having never used it myself and being a bit of a skeptic in these matters, I can say that my opinion is mixed. I never advocate the use of any supplements, but when my clients use something, I do take notes to see if there is any validity to the claims and have continued to do so for several years.

What I have seen with 10 clients who used glucosamine- some of them used glucosamine with chondroitin,  all but one reported an initial sense of relief. But, interestingly enough, as the months went all of them reported at one point or another that they saw an improvement in their symptoms. Keep in mind that this is in no way a controlled study or anything remotely resembling one. The dosages, products and time frames were also inconsistent but from what I observed everyone seemed to derive some benefit nonetheless. There is one issue that does prevent any declaration that glucosamine might be responsible for their relief. Namely that they were all doing supervised resistance training at the time. Training focused directly on helping them improve their joint mobility and increasing the strength of their surrounding muscles. (8 of the clients had knee issues, 1 had elbow issues and 1 had problems with his fingers).

Was glucosamine responsible, the placebo effect or was it the training? I am inclined to go with the conclusion that it was the training, as I have trained many clients with osteoarthritis who never used glucosamine but nevertheless reported similar relief over time.  But don’t take my word as the final answer on whether or not glucosamine can improve the suffering of people with joint problems. The Cochrane Review is a well established, peer review group that evaluates and confirms the results of thousands of studies in many fields. They are looked upon in clinical circles as the authority on what works and what doesn’t and thus far their findings are that glucosamine’s effects on humans are thus far questionable at best.

Hope this helps.

Kevin Richardson is one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City, a prominent health and fitness writer and the founder of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training™.

Sign up for our Email Newsletter