Posted: 12/13/2004 5:06:34 PM EDT
| how well do glucosamine supplements help renew damaged knees? |
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I use gluchosamine chondroiten (sp), calcium, and MSM. I don't know if it makes any real diff. But my knees think so. Psychosomatic or real, I don't care. It seems to work. Also stretch and build muscle around (quads and hammies) the knee to help suspoend the joint. Too many damn miles on mine. So, I try to baby them as much as possible. Having said that, sometimes I just have to run, or do something reckless and stoooooopid with my body. My wife keeps hoping I'll outgrow my need to push myself. |
| I don't know why but it takes about a month to make a difference. Then I could tell a difference and my knees don't make as much noise (popping and crunching) as they did. I take two a day of the glucosamine / chondroitin mix from Costco. It seems to work for my old Shepherd / Akita mix also. He hasn't "said" anything but seems not to limp around as bad! |
If you have damage to your knees that require surgery, well, the glucosamine/chondroitin won't help avoid the NEED for surgery, but the combo might help with rehab and rejuvenation of the post-operative knee. As usual, I am not a doctor, and you should consult a physician for actual factual medical opinions on the knee. BTW, I've been using the chondroitin/glucosamine combo for several years with great results. It has worked wonders for me, and for that I am thankful. |
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I can't measure objectively whether it works or how much it works. But I believe it is helping me. I'm taking 2000mg Glucosamine per day along with Vitamin D. After about a month on I started to notice my knee joint problems were less noticeable and I've been able to do much more physically. In this time frame I have lost weight, however, so I can't say for sure that it is the glucosamine. According to my doctor (an excellent resource in my opinion) you get the best results from > 1500mg per day dose. The lower dose will do little. Latest studies seem to bear this out from what she said. Additionally she recommends calcium and taking Vitamin D. Vitamin D helps the body to increase uptake of the calcium. Note also that although Milk says "Vitamin D enriched" on the bottle a recent study found only trace elements if any Vitamin D in major brands of milk tested. So don't expect to be getting enough there. Bottom line I suspect the Glucosamine is helping and will continue to take it. It may be helpful to you too, though it will not make enough of a difference that you can avoid surgery. If you're that far along surgery is probably inevitable. Good luck! |