Glucosamine Supplement
May Ease Knee Pain

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Glucosamine supplements may provide some degree of relief to chronic knee-pain sufferers, a small Australian study suggests.

"Glucosamine seems to provide benefits to people who (have) knee pain that is likely due to cartilage damage, and these benefits are most noticed in daily activities, such as walking," lead author Dr. Rebecca Braham of Monash University told Reuters Health.

Among the 46 volunteers her team studied, 88% of those who took glucosamine supplements for 12 weeks reported "some degree of improvement" in their knee pain.

The findings appear in the January issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Glucosamine is a natural substance found in the body, made from the combination of glucose and glutamine, explained Braham. It is found mostly in the cartilage and plays an important role in that tissue's health and resilience.

"Many researchers believe that joint cartilage is alive and constantly rebuilding itself in such a way that as old or damaged cartilage degenerates, it is replaced by new healthy cartilage," Braham said.

Previous research has suggested that glucosamine-containing supplements may reduce cartilage breakdown and cushion the joints. Such over-the-counter supplements are frequently marketed to people with osteoarthritis, which is marked by the breakdown of cartilage, resulting in joint inflammation, pain and stiffness.

In the current study, 24 men and women between the ages of 20 and 70 who were "suffering from regular knee pain of unspecified origin" took daily glucosamine supplements. Twenty-two other knee-pain sufferers took a placebo.

After 12 weeks, 88% of the glucosamine group reported improvements in knee pain, compared with only 17% of the placebo group.

However, in tests of knee function, such as stair climbing, there were no clear differences between the groups.

Braham pointed out that, at the dose used in the study--2,000 milligrams per day--there were "no major side effects."

"Some patients," she added, "experienced mild side effects, but these were experienced by patients in each group--not just the glucosamine group--and no side effects were severe enough to warrant withdrawal from the study."

These side effects included headache, stomach upset and dry mouth.

The study was conducted and funded by the Department of Human Movement and Exercise Science at the University of Western Australia. The glucosamine supplement was supplied by Musashi, an Australian company that makes sports supplements.

SOURCE: British Journal of Sports Medicine 2003;37:45-49.

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