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Home : Other Info : Glucosamine Supplements for Arthritis
What is Glucosamine?
If you suffer from joint pains or arthritis, you should know more about glucosamine as an effective arthritis supplement.
Prior to the discovery of Glucosamine, no medication treated the cause of osteoarthritis. Glucosamine appears to help arthritis sufferers.
Purchase Glucosamine Supplements Online Here
What is Glucosamine?
If you haven't heard about it, glucosamine is a new natural supplement that has been proven to help reverse arthritic changes and ease arthritis pain.
Who Should Take Glucosamine?
Glucosamine Sulphate is indicated for anyone with Osteoarthritis.
Glucosamine has been shown to arrest arthritic joint damage. Glucosamine Sulphate is the only medication shown in reputable studies to have an impact on the structural damage associated with Osteoarthritis. In other words, it treats the cause of the symptoms, rather than masking them like non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID's).
Leading Rheumatologists and Orthopaedic Surgeons are now advising that anyone who sustains repetitive joint injuries, the prime examples being footballers and netballers, should take glucosamine to prevent premature onset of arthritis. It is also advisable to commence glucosamine early as it is most beneficial in the early stages of the disease.
Currently, the research suggests that anyone over the age of 40 should be taking glucosamine to preserve their joints and prevent early onset arthritic pain.
How Long Does Glucosamine Take To Work?
Studies have shown the onset of analgesia to occur between three and eight weeks after commencing Glucosamine. The analgesic effects of Glucosamine Sulphate appear to be structural and independent of short-term inflammatory mediators like prostaglandins. Therefore, pain relief is not as immediate as is the case with NSAID's or analgesics.
Does Glucosamine Actually Work?
Recent 3-year studies using 1000mg glucosamine sulphate-potassium chloride complex (750mg of Glucosamine Sulphate) have shown that there was both a significant pain reduction and renewed growth of articular cartilage in arthritic knees.
Glucosamine Sulphate improves joint movement and is much better tolerated (has far less side effects) than widely prescribed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (eg Mobic, Voltaren, Feldene, Aspirin, Ibuprofen etc). In fact, Vioxx and Prexige have been withdrawn from the market due to major side effects.
Glucosamine has also been shown to be superior to analgesics (eg Paracetamol, Panadol) that successfully kill pain but do not help the body to repair.
It is also important to outline that the clinical studies suggest a sustained residual symptomatic effect after Glucosamine withdrawal, with joint improvement continuing for almost two months.
Prior to the development of Glucosamine, no medication treated the cause of osteoarthritis. Glucosamine Sulphate is the new arthritis wonder drug with virtually no side effects.
Does Glucosamine Have Any Side Effects?
The simple answer is NO.
In studies, comparing Glucosamine Sulphate with placebo (people taking an ineffective tablet), there was no side effects difference. Studies have also now shown that the long-term use (greater than three years) of Glucosamine Sulphate is safe.
Should Anyone NOT Take Glucosamine?
Glucosamine is a naturally occurring amino sugar derived from chitin, the main structural element of crustacean (eg crabs, lobster and prawns) shell.
- Due to the origin of glucosamine being shellfish, those with an allergy to shellfish should not take glucosamine.
- As yet, Glucosamine Sulphate has not been widely tested in pregnant or lactating women. We advise you not to take it until further evidence is available.
- We advise you to consult your doctor prior to taking Glucosamine if you are currently taking Warfarin.
- Tests on diabetic patients have shown it has no effect on blood sugar levels.
Who Else Recommends Glucosamine?
The Arthritis Foundation of Australia Endorses Glucosamine.
In addition, the 'Cochrane Collaboration', an extremely conservative medical review group that normally frowns upon complementary medication, stated that "There is good evidence that glucosamine is both effective and safe in treating osteoarthritis.".
What About Long-Term Use of Glucosamine?
At least two long-term studies have demonstrated that Glucosamine Sulphate (GS) prevents arthritic joint damage. These double-blinded trials compared Glucosamine Sulphate and placebo (sugar tablets) over a three-year period and found that Glucosamine Sulphate halted joint damage and maintained joint space.
In the placebo groups (not taking Glucosamine) there was substantial deterioration of the joint space and further joint damage. This is the first drug that has been shown to halt the progression of osteoarthritis.
What Does This Mean For You?
These findings support that Glucosamine Sulphate is the only drug treatment that has been PROVEN to provide long-term pain relief and to actually stop the progression of osteoarthritis.
Doctors, Rheumatologists (arthritis specialists) and Physiotherapists are now advising patients with osteoarthritis to start taking glucosamine to prevent arthritis developing.
How Do Glucosamine Supplements Work?
Glucosamine is the treatment that arthritis sufferers, doctors and physiotherapists have been eagerly awaiting. Research has shown us that glucosamine is one of the building blocks of joint cartilage.
Glucosamine Sulphate (GS) has been widely investigated in recent years as a treatment for osteoarthritis (OA). Evidence for its clinical utility is now irrefutable. It works by regenerating your damaged cartilage.
Glucosamine is a natural precursor (building block) of articular cartilage. Your articular cartilage is the hard smooth joint surface that provides a smooth glide of your bones against each other. As arthritis damages your joints, your joint surfaces become rough and pot-holed.
Studies Have Shown That Glucosamine Has Two Very Beneficial Effects:
- Glucosamine reduces the levels of an enzyme that degenerates articular cartilage. (Slowing down or stopping future damage)
- Glucosamine has also been shown to be taken up and incorporated into articular cartilage. (Repairing the damaged articular cartilage)
What Evidence Exists For Glucosamine's Effectiveness?
Dozens of randomized trials have reported improved pain control in osteoarthritis patients who take glucosamine, when compared to patients taking placebo (sugar tablets).
A recent meta-analysis of these studies has shown that Glucosamine Sulphate is superior to placebo in all evaluated outcomes, including pain control, mobility, joint space narrowing and functional outcome.
One study that was published in the highly respected medical journal, The Lancet, concluded that as well as relieving pain, glucosamine also STOPS the damage to the joint cartilage. This study compared a group of users taking Glucosamine Sulphate versus placebo (sugar tablets) over a three-year period.
How Does Glucosamine Compare To Your Current Medication?
Trials have compared glucosamine with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). The good news is that glucosamine has been demonstrated to have equivalent or superior pain control with significantly less toxicity than the NSAID's.
What Are Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAID's)
NSAIDs are the most widely prescribed medication for osteoarthritis. Unfortunately they have numerous side effects including increased likelihood of stroke and blood pressure issues. NSAID's are estimated in the U.S. alone to cause as many as 16,500 deaths and more than 100,000 hospitalisations annually, due to gastric bleeding. There is also early evidence to suggest that these drugs may also be toxic to articular cartilage, hastening the deterioration of your articular cartilage.
Common Brands of NSAID's include:
- Mobic
- Celebrex
- Vioxx
- Voltaren
- Naprosyn
- Feldene
- Prexige
- Brufen
- Nurofen
- Ibuprofen
- Indocid
- Aspirin
What Glucosamine Supplement is Recommended by Rheumatologists?
Cosamin®DS is a nutritional supplement which aids the recovery of flexibility of impaired joints such as knees, hips, fingers, shoulders, neck and lower back.
If you are concerned about your joint health and you are considering a glucosamine/chondroitin joint health supplement, don't assume they're all alike, they're not.
Since 1992, CosaminDS has been used to help people maintain joint health. The two main ingredients in CosaminDS, *TRH122® LMW (low molecular weight) chondroitin sulfate and *FCHG49® glucosamine hydrochloride, are exclusive to CosaminDS. They work synergistically to support and maintain overall joint health.
Published studies have shown that CosaminDS works to maintain the healthy structure of the cartilage in your joints while inhibiting the enzymes that break down cartilage.
CosaminDS is the #1 brand recommended by Orthopaedic Surgeons and Rheumatologists1. It's the only brand proven effective in controlled, published, U.S. studies to reduce joint pain. It contains the low molecular weight chondroitin sulfate and same quality glucosamine in the multi-centre National Institutes of Health (NIH) clinical trial.
*CosaminDS contains exclusively research TRH122® Chondroitin Sulfate and FCHG49® Glucosamine HCl.
To download a brochure on Cosamin DS, click here.
Purchase Cosamin DS online here
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