Here's another thought about glucosamine....I had painful arthritis in a
few knuckles, wrist, toe, and a painful spur in my shoulder that was
going to require surgery as I was having to take too many NSAIDs and still only
getting very slight pain relief. I could barely open a sliding door, turn a
steering wheel, or walk without a great deal of pain, and I was only 49! I
started using glucosamine & chondroitin on the advise of a 35 yr old friend
with knee problems. After a few weeks the pain everywhere was diminishing, and
as I continued taking the supplements, the pain got less and less, until I could
no longer even remember which joints in my hands & wrist had hurt. Shoulder
& foot pain also gone. A couple of years later,while still on supplements, I
developed tendonitis in the elbow from tossing hay. I suffered this pain for a a
year or so (tried the arm band) before someone suggested MSM, which I then added
to my regiment. After about 3-4 weeks, no more tendonitis pain (for about 6
mos. now)! I tell all my aging, aching friends and acquaintances to try these
supplements before considering surgery or taking drugs. The supplements work for
some and do absolutely nothing for others. Could these mixed results be the same
for animals that are given the supplements and that's why some studies will
show that they don't work?
> I have decided to forego
purchasing any more oral joint supplements, > as none of them have ever
really been scientifically proven to work,...
Actually, a double blind
clinical trial was done by Dr. Hillary Clayton (I think) at University of
Michigan (I think) on the oral joint supplement Corta-Flx and improvement in
hock range of motion of arthritic horses was observed after two weeks of
using it (if I remember correctly).
You could probably find an on-line
version of the article reporting the study in The Horse magazine (because I
think that that is where I read it...but not sure, it was about 12-18 months
ago).
kat Orange County, Calif.
p.s. Adequan and injectable
glucosamine are not the same thing and as far as I know, no clinical trials
have been one on the injectable glucosamine.
The active ingredient in
Adequan and Chondroprotec are the same, however, they are labeled for
different uses, which may be nothing more than a legal technicality, but I
wouldn't swear to it.
