Joint Supplements That Really Work

My husband has success with Joint Juice. It is cheapest at Target. Liquid glucosamine has been found to absorb better than pills--which I think is proven with my husband as the pills he took did nothing for him. I read an article last week or so that talked about glucosamine and something else but cannot remember It was online thought so you might be able to google it. I do recall about taking omega 3 with it.

My orthopedic surgeon put me on the glucosamine and it helps but I still get pain. I was taking ibuprofen but it was causing ulcers.

Here is where it gets crazy, turmeric! Yeah I know fad right? So we got some from Costco figuring it wouldn't work, it does. I sometimes forget to take it during the weekends and every Monday morning my knees are crunchy again.

If I didn't take it I wouldn't believe it but it works!

Oh just a little background, I have no cartilage in either knees due to four surgeries and a reconstructed ACL. I have really bad knees, I am mostly pain free without taking pain killers.

I have no idea why but different things work for different people. Try different things until something works. Oh with the turmeric my husband started taking it for his bad back, works for him too.

I've been using krill oil (concentrated source of omega-3's) and get (not perfect but) noticeable relief in my knees, wrists and ankles. This also got my triglycerides down to shockingly healthy levels – my doctor was really impressed. I use 4-6 capsules a day, and if I run out, I notice the difference after only a few days.

Several years ago, I got really remarkable and quick improvement in finger pain and stiffness using cetyl myristoleate (sometimes called CM). I've been thinking of taking another course, but it's kinda pricey – last time I bought it, a month's supply (one full course) cost about $50.

I tried a glucosimine/chondroitin cap for 10 weeks a few years ago, and didn't notice any improvement, but everybody's different, and I have heard other people get good results. You might just need to try a few different products to see what works for you. Wishing you success!

I used to work for an orthopaedic surgeon and he always recommended glucosamine to patients with joint pain.

I am still under the care of my ortho guy for my ankle and he has me on my regular vitamins at different dosages (nothing fancy... just extra C, D, multi, and Biotin)

He also recommends the glucosamine. I am also on a low dose newish anti-inflammatory right now as well which is Zipsor.

I also use my pedispa every night for about 15 minutes hot Epsom salt water then ice for 15 minutes. During the day, I currently wear a compression sleeve on my ankle and I add the ankle brace with this if I am going to be very active. I exercise that area daily as well.

I leave on Saturday for a conference in CA and my Tuesday activity will be a jeep tour on the Andres fault line or something like that. I will certainly be wearing the brace for this activity and anything else that could hurt my ankle.

Hopefully you will get some good results soon. I had surgery in August 2013 and my ankle started acting up after I was on my feet for 2 days substitute teaching. Now I am trying to recover from the teaching stint but the Dr. said it takes a while for joints to recover and that is why I am on the RX along with the regular vitamin routine.

I've tried both turmeric & glucosamine for arthritis in my hips, as well as Rx Naproxen & ibuprofen & never really noticed them helping. And the ibuprofen gives me stomach aches, so I only take it when the pain becomes unbearable. I can not stand up straight & walk really stiffly after sitting for more than 1/2 hour or so. My morning car pool to my kids schools takes-- on a good day--over an hour.

So I hobble a lot. And don't sit for long stretches if I can help it. I'm 53. I had our 1st when I was 36, didn't gain more than 20 lbs & lost it before I got pregnant w/#2. Gained 30 lbs with her, didn't lose it & then gained 50 lbs with #3. All in the space of 4 years. During pregnancy, your hip ligaments soften & all that extra weight put too much stress on the hip joints. I couldn't lay on my sides to sleep because the pain was too great. The x-ray showed significant calcification around my hips & I would always have pain from my arthritis. Handed me a Rx & told me to lose weight, always easier said than done & if walking hurts too much try swimming.

I've been using Arnica Gel on my kids bruises for years. A Soccer Mom told me about it & I've been really impressed how well it works on bruises & bumps. My kids call it my "hippie gel". It helps with pain & bruises even if you don't get it rubbed on right away after an injury. One of my daughters keeps a tube in her sports bag. Just don't use it on broken skin. I've tried rubbing it on my hips, but it didn't really work for the pain.

A couple of weeks ago I went to our local health food store to get some more hippie gel & noticed that the same company makes an arthritis tablet. It's a Homepathic medicine that it really does work, at least of me. A couple of days after starting taking the tablets, I was standing up in the morning on one leg to put on my socks. Without holding on to anything. My hubby & I were both impressed. I still am slow to get moving after sitting for a longish stretch, but it's not near what it was. And I've started being able to sleep on my sides, which means I get more hours of sleep in a stretch.

PS Even though exercise can make your joint pain feel worse, at least temporarily, they best thing for your joints is to stay active. Yoga & stretching everyday helps, too. But I think these little tablets have been the best thing for me. My hubby has started using them for the arthritis in his elbow. I don't know if he's cut down on his ibuprofen intake, though. Good Luck.

I can't quote anything, but I do know there's a lot of research to back up glucosamine.

Honestly, if you go to WalMart's vitamin aisle, there are just all kinds of things you could try. I personally like Hyland's Nerve Tonic (not for joint pain, of course) but I see that they make some sort of leg pain product - always worth a try at around five bucks. But again, I've seen SO many products in this aisle and every month I try something new just to see if I think it makes a difference. ;)

Good luck!

(ETA - my MIL uses something called China Gel - I think - and she uses it on her knees which were bad enough to warrant surgery. Also, just making sure you're getting checked out, because I am only 33, had my doc. tell me he thought I just had fibro but they ought to check to make sure it wasn't something else, and turns out I have RA and early mixed connective tissue disease. Wasn't expecting it - just thought I was real achy - so it definitely pays to at least bring it up with your doctor to rule out an actual condition. I am now on plaquenil and I take ultram, and I feel a lot better.)

I would rule out medical issues before spending money on supplements, personally. There's been a fair amount of research that has shown that most supplements don't actually DO anything. Check with an orthopedic surgeon first and see if there's anything physically wrong with your knees (torn cartilage, etc) that can be repaired. If not, check with your regular doctor and have your thyroid checked. I know that sounds crazy, but my knees were swollen and achy and make crackling noises when I walked, and my doctor thought perhaps I had early onset arthritis or something. I had always been very active, so it seemed like a plausible answer? Well, long story short, it turned out I had thyroid issues, which believe it or not, can cause symptoms of arthritis. When the thyroid problem was corrected, my knees felt brand new again.

So... I think there's probably more to be gained from figuring out exactly why your knees hurt, than taking supplements.

I'm 42. I have arthritis in my right knee (caused by surgery I had as a kid), tennis elbow in my right arm, and wrist pain in my right wrist (yeah, the right side of my body was messed up!). I play a lot of tennis and a couple of years ago, these issues were so bad that I could barely walk or turn a doorknob. My doc said "Well, you'll have to give up tennis now." I said "No freakin' way."

Now I'm playing tennis 5 times a week in a league and winning my matches. I feel great and have absolutely no pain at all.

So here's what I did. Yeah, I took a supplement (Mercola's Joint Support Formula, to be specific), and I'm going to assume it helped. But I also went to acupuncture. I didn't rest or take time off from my activities and sports, I played through the pain with painkillers while going to acupuncture and taking my supplements. Literally the only change I made was acupuncture and the supplement. It took many months, but the pain is gone. Absolutely gone. I play hard 5 times a week or more and there is no pain. I don't have to "recover" or take painkillers or use a knee/elbow brace to play or ice my elbow or knee or use pain relief creams or any of that stuff. I feel like I did in my 20s.

I'm glad I didn't let my doc talk me into knee surgery.

Hi S.,

Tumeric is a wonderful anti-inflammatory! It is something I would have recommended however, it doesn't get to the root cause and heal the issue. The issue can be healed. I'm a firm believer that if the body is still living that damage can be reversed! Chondroitin and Glucosamine will help as well as an absorbable calcium. Calcium is tricky. If it's the wrong kind it can do horrible damage. Make sure it does not cause free radicals as most do or absorb improperly causing kidney stones.

Regards,
M.

Yes there are clinical trials on several ingredients. Usually, it's the blend that's important, rather than trying to grab a bottle of this and a bottle of that. It's more than the mix of ingredients, it's the ratio of one to the other. So doing it yourself is difficult. Anybody can throw a little condroitin or glucosamine in there, but that doesn't mean it's a high quality source. It also doesn't mean that there are any certificates of authenticity (independent lab testing) before the product arrives in the manufacturing plant, or that there is independent lab testing done during and after manufacture.

I look for patents (on the entire formula, not just on one ingredient), because they are difficult to get, and the manufacturer must prove safety, effectiveness and uniqueness. A patent also tells you that what's on the label is what's actually in the product. Believe it or not, that's often not the case! There are hardly any patents out there but if you find one, pay attention.

I also do not endorse most pills (there are a few vegetable-based capsules that are okay) because they are simply not absorbed. You pay for 100%, and you absorbed 15-30% depending on how it's made. There are innumerable studies on municipal water supplies, sewage treatment plants and individual septic tank pumping that prove how many pills end up somewhere besides in our bodies - sometimes they can still read the name of the pill on it after it's been through its long journey from your mouth to the waste treatment facility!

If you don't have high absorption, you don't have cellular support. I'd have to know a little more about your knees to know if you have a lack of cartilage, inflammation of muscles or tendons, or all of the above. But there is an ingredient clinically proven to grow cartilage and increase blood supply, so long as there is still some cartilage in the joint.

There is also a natural anti-inflammatory that has been heavily researched over the past 15 years which has additional health benefits for other areas of the body.

In general, if you are in a "health food" or grocery store, you are looking at "parity products" that are made by one or two manufacturers and just distributed by different companies who put their own labels on it. You don't know who manufactures it or even in what country it's actually made. That matters because there are many with fewer standards than our FDA, and there are also a few countries with much more stringent rules than we have in the US. So if a product is not available for sale in certain countries, that can be a good indicator.

There are a lot of imitators out in the global marketplace as well, and there are plenty of unsubstantiated claims. So if someone says "clinically proven", you have to find out if there are independent clinical trials or if they ran their own trials only (where they obviously had a vested interest in the outcome - this happens with drug companies all the time). Or did they just gave them to a few employees and asked them "Do you feel better?"

I buy direct from the manufacturer, I make sure there is an FDA Good Manufacturing Practices designation from regular and surprise inspections with few if any items on a checklist to be corrected, and I make sure of the independent testing.

Most consumers won't go to the trouble, most store clerks have no idea what they are selling you (they just sell what has the highest profit margin for the store), and so a whole lot of money gets spent by people on dicey products that help little and hurt the budget a lot.

I'm wary of products/companies that spend a lot of money on advertising (with celebrity endorsers or otherwise - many are retired athletes who don't have much income anymore so they go into product endorsement to pay the bills).

I work in this field and so I've spent the time doing this. I have a colleague who should have had a double knee replacement 9 years ago, but she's now been put on hold by the surgeon unless and until her pain returns. The X-rays still look terrible, but she doesn't have pain or inflammation so he's not operating. She also was taking 20 ibuprofen a day (not good for the liver or the digestive tract - don't know if you've seen the recent study on that stuff) and now she doesn't take anything. She's gone from being severely restricted with custom knee braces to being able to hike and cross country ski.

So there's help out there for you if you want to take the time to investigate. But I'd say you're not going to get better on your own - you have to really take a scientific approach to this and study what you're doing. Don't believe the hype - believe clinical studies.

Magnesium disolving tablets or spray on your body along with Vit D, together are suppose to be great when used together. I know 2 people that swear by this.

I have arthritis in both my knees from athletics as a kid. I'm 33. A few years ago I talked to my doc about what I could do to lessen the pain. She recommended Glucosamine, fish oil, and black cherry juice.

I went to Vitamin World and got the first two, but not the juice. The glucosamine I used was in a purple box. I THINK it was the "triple strength joint soother". The Fish oil was in a red bottle and you only had to take one a day. It was a horse pill.

They worked well for me. I stopped taking them because rent and food for my kids became a little more important to me than supplements. I have since moved out of the crappy house I was living in when I WAS taking them, and my knees don't bother me nearly as bad as they used to.