Joint Supplements

jamesters · 11-20-2005, 05:43 PM

What's the best joint supplement?

Currently, I've been taking Labrad's Elastijoint for over 6 months straight now. I take at least 2 servings everyday and I see no improvement. I studied all the other joint supplements and Elastijoint seemed to be the best, but there would be better.

I can't stand an hour at work without my knees starting to hurt. I jsut want my knees to function well. What can I do to make my knees better, it really frustrates me having bad knees. It seems like I've tried all that I could to make them better. I asked my parents if I could go to s sports physician but they don't wanna take me.

Any ideas on how I can make my knees better? Whether that includes supplements or anything else.

Dosquito · 11-20-2005, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamesters

What's the best joint supplement?

Currently, I've been taking Labrad's Elastijoint for over 6 months straight now. I take at least 2 servings everyday and I see no improvement. I studied all the other joint supplements and Elastijoint seemed to be the best, but there would be better.

I can't stand an hour at work without my knees starting to hurt. I jsut want my knees to function well. What can I do to make my knees better, it really frustrates me having bad knees. It seems like I've tried all that I could to make them better. I asked my parents if I could go to s sports physician but they don't wanna take me.

Any ideas on how I can make my knees better? Whether that includes supplements or anything else.

Rest: Take time off
If you have the money: Bone Boost by San
If you don't have the money: Any glucosamine/chondroitin mix

Doses: 2000 mg glucosamine, 1600 mg chondroitin

jamesters · 11-20-2005, 07:08 PM

wow i never did see bone boost. It seems good. I'm going to take it in conjunction with elastijoint. I'll be getting in about 5 grams of glucosamine and 3 grams of chondroatin a day that way.

Money is not a problem for me! Any other ideas? It's ver very important to me that my knee joints function well.

Dosquito · 11-20-2005, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamesters

wow i never did see bone boost. It seems good. I'm going to take it in conjunction with elastijoint. I'll be getting in about 5 grams of glucosamine and 3 grams of chondroatin a day that way.

Money is not a problem for me! Any other ideas? It's ver very important to me that my knee joints function well.

Money is not a problem? Just take Bone Boost and time off. At 75 dollars a month, it's all you need. You do not need 5 grams of glucosamine and 3 grams of chondroitin, nor is it optimal

jamesters · 11-20-2005, 08:12 PM

o its jsut ive been taking about 3 grams of glucosamine and 1.5 grams of chodroitin everyday for 6 months, I thought maybe my body require more. I mean, I read that pro athletes that supplement with glucosamine generally take 2-6 grams of it a day. I thought maybe I might need to be more on the high end of 5 or 6 grams. Then again, jsut cuz soe pro athletes take that much doesn't mean it's necessary and I'm aware of that. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find any research studies that talk about the optimum dosage of glucosamine.

Dahon · 11-22-2005, 02:00 AM

I have arthritis and I've been taking 3-4 tablets of Glucosamine a day. It has helped a lot. I had some problems walking up stairs before. Now I hardly feel any pain. However, while doing some leg exercises sometimes I feel some pain.

midget · 11-22-2005, 12:50 PM

I have tried a lot of OTC orals and none seem to help out. Do some research on Adequan which is an injectable. When I can figure out the proper dosing, I may give it a try.

Ironbuddy · 11-22-2005, 02:03 PM

Hi,

Until about five years ago I was driven crazy by knee pain - just climbing the stairs into work was excruciating... I made a chance discovery and then experimented with a few things and I'm now relatively pain free.

The chance discovery came when I found that I'd caught thrush from a woman I was with - I bought one of those single dose caps of Flucanazole (they're OTC here in the UK) that get rid of thrush overnight - amazingly it got rid of most of my knee pain overnight too. It seemed that at least part of the joint pain was down to fungal infections in my body that I was completely unaware of before that. Over the years, when I have had a re-occurrence of the joint pain the Flucanazole has invariably made a big difference so these days I take it twice a year just as a precaution.

Now to the things I've tried to get rid of the residual pain:-

Devils Claw - This takes about two to three weeks to get results but is a powerful anti- inflamatory with no sides that I could see( apart from it turns your urine brown). I highly recommend Devils Claw.

Cetyl Myristoleate - This is good but doesn't seem to work for everyone (it worked for my wife but not for me) - the best bit is that you don't need to keep taking it - the effect of one course lasts months or years. Try to buy the original product (Myristin) because many of the generics seem completely ineffective qand you're just pissing your money away.

MSM - Again a very good product with no sides that I can see - works well within a few days.

Glucosamine - Seems to work well for me when stacked with Cod liver oil but seems much less effective on its own.

Chondroitin - I've never tried this and I avoid it because there have been reports that have said it has caused pre-existing prostate cancer to begin spreading through the body. I'm 52 and in the right age group for this so I don't chance it.

Green Lipped Mussel Extract - expensive and ineffective in my experience.

A good way of buying these products in combination and at prices way lower than usual is to look for horse remedies that contain them - they work just as well but you obviously have to scale down the dose a bit!
If you're concerned about the purity and safety of the equine products ask lf who is worth more the average man in the street or a champion race horse that's being sold for a few million dollars...

One last thing to try - physiotherapy.
My physio' reckoned that I at least part of the problem was uneven development of my quads pulling my knee cap to one side - the ecercises she gave me got rid of the last of the problem.

I hope this helps

Keith

Bane · 11-22-2005, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ironbuddy

Hi,

Until about five years ago I was driven crazy by knee pain - just climbing the stairs into work was excruciating... I made a chance discovery and then experimented with a few things and I'm now relatively pain free.

The chance discovery came when I found that I'd caught thrush from a woman I was with - I bought one of those single dose caps of Flucanazole (they're OTC here in the UK) that get rid of thrush overnight - amazingly it got rid of most of my knee pain overnight too. It seemed that at least part of the joint pain was down to fungal infections in my body that I was completely unaware of before that. Over the years, when I have had a re-occurrence of the joint pain the Flucanazole has invariably made a big difference so these days I take it twice a year just as a precaution.

Now to the things I've tried to get rid of the residual pain:-

Devils Claw - This takes about two to three weeks to get results but is a powerful anti- inflamatory with no sides that I could see( apart from it turns your urine brown). I highly recommend Devils Claw.

Cetyl Myristoleate - This is good but doesn't seem to work for everyone (it worked for my wife but not for me) - the best bit is that you don't need to keep taking it - the effect of one course lasts months or years. Try to buy the original product (Myristin) because many of the generics seem completely ineffective qand you're just pissing your money away.

MSM - Again a very good product with no sides that I can see - works well within a few days.

Glucosamine - Seems to work well for me when stacked with Cod liver oil but seems much less effective on its own.

Chondroitin - I've never tried this and I avoid it because there have been reports that have said it has caused pre-existing prostate cancer to begin spreading through the body. I'm 52 and in the right age group for this so I don't chance it.

Green Lipped Mussel Extract - expensive and ineffective in my experience.

A good way of buying these products in combination and at prices way lower than usual is to look for horse remedies that contain them - they work just as well but you obviously have to scale down the dose a bit!
If you're concerned about the purity and safety of the equine products ask lf who is worth more the average man in the street or a champion race horse that's being sold for a few million dollars...

One last thing to try - physiotherapy.
My physio' reckoned that I at least part of the problem was uneven development of my quads pulling my knee cap to one side - the ecercises she gave me got rid of the last of the problem.

I hope this helps

Keith

^^^^^Great post.
From my personal experience, a combo of Glucosamine,Chondroitine+MSM
(like that:http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/now/gcm.html) works great.
As far as herbs go, I swear by Harpagophytum

Dosquito · 11-22-2005, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bane

^^^^^Great post.
From my personal experience, a combo of Glucosamine,Chondroitine+MSM
(like that:http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/now/gcm.html) works great.
As far as herbs go, I swear by Harpagophytum

Cissus+celadrin too

Dahon · 11-23-2005, 02:25 AM

Ironbuddy, maybe all those supp are good. Did you have arthritis? My arthritis showed up in an xray that I had taken. My doctor actually didn't suggest anything, except to lose weight. He didn't even recommend taking supps. In hindsight I thought he should have recommended taking Glucosamin and MSM. I take three pills of this stuff a day.

AbAbber2k · 11-23-2005, 04:14 AM

Did no one recommend EFAs? Essential Fatty Acids important for joint lubrication (among many things). Try taking flax seed oil and eating more fish. If it's a bone density problem, start getting more Vitamin D and Calcium in your diet, or take vitamin supplements (Vit D increases calcium bioavailability/absorption).

It seems to me that people always overlook the naturaly occuring (no I'm not a hippy) essential nutrients that may fix the problem. IMHO, there's a lot of products out there that should only be your last resort. Of course, if it's a SERIOUS problem you need to see a doctor. I'm not knocking anyone elses recommendations, I'm just suggesting trying some common nutrients your body uses every day before shelling out money for exotic sups.

Morgour · 11-23-2005, 04:15 PM

I know how you feel, most of my joints are totally ruined. (not from bb)

Ironbuddy · 12-02-2005, 05:27 AM

I've never really had it looked at with an X-ray but my Dr just commented "you've probably got RA - the best thing you can do is to take Ibuprofen a few times a day ....for the rest of your life".

I think the point about EFA's is a good one though and I agree that wherever possible natural medications are probably a better bet although, of course, many herbal remedies can still have side effects too - as with anything it pays to do the research on what these might be.

Keith

JRAM · 12-02-2005, 06:13 AM

For the last few years I've been taking what they call "Triple-Action Joint Formula" by Purity Products (www.purityproducts.com or 1-800-213-2342) which contains Glucosamine, Chondroitin, MSM, SAM-e and Omega 3 Oils, in addition to vitamins and other goodies. I also take NOW Omega 3-6-9. With these two products I personally have not had any joint problems and I believe help me do my w/o's with more increased intensity and be more enjoyable.

For those who may not know, Glucosamine is derived from shellfish and those individuals who may be sensitive or allergic to any form of shellfish should avoid products containing Glucosamine and should ask your MD for advice.

Peace

Ironbuddy · 01-13-2006, 03:03 PM

I receive a daily e-mail alert on developments in nutritional medicine and I thought the following article from it was quite interesting....

Last November, a study that examined treatments for Osteo-Arthritis of the knee was presented at the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the study compared Celebrex to supplements of glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate. These two essential components of cartilage are naturally produced by the body, and in supplement form have been shown to slow and even reverse the degenerative effects of osteoarthritis.

A team of researchers led by Dr Daniel O. Clegg chief of the Division of Rheumatology at the University of Utah School of Medicine, recruited nearly 1,600 subjects with OA of the knee. Each had experienced significant knee pain for at least six months. Subjects were randomly assigned to these five treatment groups:
* Glucosamine, 500 mg three times each day
* Chondroitin sulfate, 400 mg three times each day
* Glucosamine, 500 mg combined with 400 mg of chondroitin sulfate three times each day
* Celebrex, 200 mg per day
* Placebo

Pain levels for each subject were assessed before the intervention began, and four more times throughout the 24-week study period. Final results showed that Celebrex was the most effective painkiller for those with mild OA pain. But for subjects with moderate to severe pain, the combination of glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate was comparable to the effectiveness of Celebrex.

In an ACR press release Dr. Clegg noted that, given the results, "patients might want to discuss treatment options with their physicians."

In previous e-alerts I've mentioned this important word of caution: OA patients should avoid chondroitin sulfate supplements if they have prostate cancer or if their doctors feel they might be at risk of developing prostate cancer. Reports have shown that chondroitin sulfate may cause prostate cancer cells to multiply and spread to other sites.

This is NOT true of glucosamine, which can be safely used by prostate cancer patients.

But those who can't use chondroitin sulfate might consider combining glucosamine supplements with ginger extract, another natural treatment that's been shown to relieve pain associated with OA of the knee.

In the e-alert "How ginger can help relieve arthritis" (7/4/04), I told you about a small study in which knee pain was reduced and mobility significantly increased among subjects who used ginger extract. And similar results were reported in a University of Miami, US, study that tested ginger extract (255 mg per day for six weeks) on more than 240 patients with mild to severe OA of the knee.

spyvox2 · 01-14-2006, 06:22 PM

I recently been taking PrimaForce Elastamine..., its working for me so far

..

Dutchman · 01-15-2006, 05:50 PM

I am very pleased with the results I am getting from heavy doses of Cissus and Celadrin. I get both as powders and cap them.

Shutup · 01-15-2006, 11:46 PM

USP Labs has a product called Cissus, check it out. I also used another supp they make, PowerFULL, and while on it, my joint pains were almost gone.

jamesters · 01-16-2006, 03:27 AM

I researched all the prodcuts you guys recommended. As for EFAs Vitamin D and Calcium, not at all a problem. Hasn't ever been. I always get lots of all those and in good proportions. I generally get in about 3 grams of calcium a day even. and as for EFAs I even get it in a nice proportion of Omega 3s to Omega 6s 2:1 ratio approximately. Anyways, I've been supplementing with the Bone Boost for awhile now and I must say it is my new favorite! I am slowly noticing an increase in joint improvement, the other things I think I'm going to test out is Celadrine. Out of all that stuff I researched, Celadrine sounds to be the most promising for me personally. So I'm gonnastart supplementing with Bone Boost and Celadrine... together.

LL SquatButt J · 01-25-2006, 02:12 PM

Hey whats up man? sorry that im late, but check out this site

http://www.innvista.com/health/ailme...s/dietsupp.htm

It will give u all the info u'll need on what suppz will help with your joint issues. I guess u should look for two diff types of things, one that will ease the pain which is an anti-inflammatory, and another that will rebuild and strengthen the tissue/ligaments/joints/cartilage.

There are 2 supplements that this site doesn't list which supposedly works, those are Gelatin (on BB.com store search biocell collegan), or just eat 1 JeLL-o pack a day, and also Hyaluronic acid, which is also in that biocell collegan product. But if u want to save money just get bulk jello packz and continue taking Omega'z which would pretty much do the same thing that hyaluronic acid does. And for glucosamine and chondrin all u need is 1.5 grams/ day split up in servings. Research shows that 2grams and up ended up with the same results as 1.5. So take atleast 1.5 i would go with TKE joint boost. Thats what im currently taking. Good luck...

PapaDeca · 01-29-2006, 12:08 AM

Doses: 2000 mg glucosamine, 1600 mg chondroitin

throw in 1000-2000mg of shark cartilage, also.
takeing 1200mg of calcium a day wont hurt either.

edplayer · 01-30-2006, 01:05 AM

haven't seen hyaluronic acid mentioned yet.

Bupolo · 01-30-2006, 05:51 PM

Jamsters, do you think you have jumper's knee? As far as I know it's caused by under-developed quads, or over-developed hamstrings. You want your quads to be stronger, and if they are not, you can develop knee problems. A few of my friends (all in their early-mid 20's) have had knee problems, and I've recommended doing quad extensions (stay away from squats or lunges for a little while) and stretching their quads twice a day. Usually that's gotten rid of the problem.

Maybe give that a shot for a week or two? Also, stay away from running or any impact activity for a little while.

rcaz01 · 01-30-2006, 09:02 PM

Jamesters,

First I am not knocking the supplements I use a joint supplement myself. You have to take them for a while before it makes a noticeable difference.

If I were you I would go see a Dr. or at least a Chiropractor. They can tell you if there is anything from a bone development standpoint that may be wrong such as the length of your legs or any issues with spinal alignment. You don't have to go see a sports Dr right away and if you have insurance you will only get stuck with your standard co-pay. If an MD or DO thinks you have any joint issues they will send you to a specialist, Orthopedic, sports medicine or otherwise. Tell your parents you will pay for half of the first visit if they still aren't buying it, this will only cost you $10-$15. Also, tell them that you are going to be a very pissed off bitter middle aged man if it ends up being something serious and you can't play sports with their grandchildren because they ignored your current sports injury.

Most likely the Dr is initially going to tell you the same thing half of the posts have already told you stay off it for 4-6 weeks as much as possible and take an anti-inflammatory and see if the pain goes away.

Why am I saying this? I am going through this with my wrist (no I didn't bang it on the sink!). I ignored it for a very long time and it would get better for a while. I now know I tore the cartilage and have to wear a splint for 4-6 weeks, which is a major pain in the ass but beats not being able to go to the gym for the rest of my life or being able to pick up my kids.

So if you have a real injury don't screw with it fiind out what it is and do what you need to to fix it.

bigasssnowman · 04-20-2006, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamesters

Currently, I've been taking Labrad's Elastijoint for over 6 months straight now. I

maybe it doesn't work? you should try a diffrent brand. also i've been seeing a massage therapist for my knees and that has been helping. hurts like hell when shes breaking up the scar tissue in there but feels good a couple days later. also have them loosin up your quads.