Since I am running so much lately, I started taking Glucosamine for precautionary purposes. Does anyone take Glucosamine for joint pain/health? If so, has it helped you and is it worth it?



Thanks

I have taken a product from GNC called triflex for years. It is glucosamine, chondrotin, and MSM. I believe it helps me stay pain free in my knees.

I have been taking it for a couple of weeks now. I can't remember the brand name at the moment though...

John, you asked if taking Glucosamine was worth it.



I remember about 15 years ago, it looked very promising. Its effectiveness has been questioned in the last few years with the release of several studies.



Here is a link to "Science-Based Medicine" blog which is written by Medical Doctors. (This blog is one of my daily reads) This particular article reviews the current evidence for glucosamine and links to actual studies so you can decide for yourself if there is enough evidence to support whether it is effective and/or worth the cost.

Cool. Thanks Jeff.

Hey guys, Keep one thing in mind here. Medical doctors and I am speaking most of American doctors do not like the idea of anything other than a pharma ansure to questions they are confronted with. There are some very promising studys out of Australia that show Glucosamine has a very real benifit to those who are active. John one whould think you are asking in reference to your hips and knees because of running. If so take a look at the Health Report Podcast. Its by the ABC Nath. radio and is based primaraly out of Australia but gives alot of time to studys all over the world. Most countrys practice alternative medicine and belive it has a real place in the world. Ask a US doctor and most will tell you that you are wasting your time. I have been taking it for several months along with my wife who has very bad knee problems and yes it works. My arthritus has all but vanished and when my wife quit taking it her pain came back very soon there after.

I started taking glucosamine for a month or so. I believe it does help in joint health. I did not believe it before.



My father has been taking it to reduce the knee pain due to old age. It helps him a lot.



I started taking it just to see how well it works for me. I do feel my knee is "easier" in hill runs or recovery faster after long run. But, it may be becuase my knees are stronger thru training though.

I was taking it for a while, (couple of months), but then stopped because a) I ran out and b) I just didn't notice a difference. Then again, perhaps I just wasn't taking enough?



Does anyone know if there's been any placebo testing done with it?

Thanks for the information. I'm going to check it out.

I have been using it as I have always been concerned what my old bones will look like in the future. I can not verify if it works or not as I've never actually had a problem though I've always believed that it will help keep my joints in good nick and may not be so useful for reversing the damamge if I take it too late.



I've weighed up the pro's and cons and at the moment I'm happy to stick with it even if its just for the placebo effect.

I take it with my protein shakes.



I'll be honest I started taking it when i started the whole 6 month journey and my knees feel alot better. I had some pain in them occasionally from 12 years of hard running on them (track guy) and they feel great now.



I also didn't have any real join pain even with all the major lifting i did the past 6 months. So i'll chalk that up to God and the gluc



I'm a big fan of preventive med.

My wife and I do take it twice a day. She swears by it. It does seems to help.

there is some evidence it works and many pharmacists recommend taking it especially as a prevention and maintenance tool.