Patriot Health Digest
Many people suffer with chronic joint pain from their hands, knees, shoulders, elbows, and elsewhere. In many cases, this is due to the most common form of arthritis, osteoarthritis. This type of arthritis affects around one-quarter of Americans.
Pain relievers like Tylenol or Advil are normally the first choice to relieve this joint pain.
There are also many supplements that can treat joint pain, but which of these work the best? Here’s a look at 5 of the best supplements based on existing research.
1. Turmeric
Turmeric is among the top supplement for dealing with pain, including joint pain that comes from osteoarthritis. It has pain-relieving effects that are linked to a chemical compound inside turmeric called curcumin. This curcumin seems to give great anti-inflammatory effects.
Although research on the substance for joint pain is not widespread, an analysis of studies proved that it helps with the symptoms of joint pain better than a placebo and might be comparable to ibuprofen.
2. Fish oil
Fish oil has omega-3 fatty acids that give great anti-inflammatory effects.
An analysis of the clinical research reveals that consuming fish oil supplements lowers the symptoms of joint pain in people who have rheumatoid arthritis. But it does not seem to lower osteoarthritis symptoms.
Normal fish oil doses go from 300 to 1,000mg each day. You can get fish oil supplements at almost any drug store.
3. Glucosamine
Glucosamine is natural component in your cartilage, a substance that stops your bones from rubbing against one other and leading to inflammation and pain. It might also help stop your cartilage breakdown that happens if you have arthritis.
Many supplements targeted at treating joint pain have glucosamine, which is among the most studied supplements to help with osteoarthritis.
Glucosamine sulfate is normally taken once per day with a dose of 1,500mg. If this upsets your stomach, spread it out over three 500mg doses instead. You can get glucosamine sulfate supplements at the drug store or on Amazon.
4. Chondroitin
Like glucosamine, chondroitin is a part of your cartilage. It might also help stop cartilage breakdown from osteoarthritis.
Many studies have proven that chondroitin can lower your stiffness and joint pain if you have osteoarthritis. Around 53 percent of people who took chondroitin had a 20 percent or more improvement in their knee pain.
Chondroitin is normally taken in in a 400 to 800mg dose two or three times each day. You can get it on Amazon.
5. SAMe
S-adenosyl-L-methionine (also known as SAMe) is a supplement normally used to aid with symptoms of osteoarthritis and depression. Your liver naturally creates SAMe from an amino acid known as methionine. It has several jobs, including helping the repair and production of cartilage.
When taken in supplement form, SAMe can aid with the joint pain that is caused by osteoarthritis. It might also be as good as the anti-inflammatory drug named Celebrex. In research from 2004, Celebrex helped symptoms more than SAMe did after one month of usage. But by the next month, the treatments were about the same.
SAMe is normally taken in 200 to 400mg doses three times each day. Remember, it could take some time to see results.
Author: Steven Sinclaire
