Don’t expect glucosamine/chondroitin to treat knee osteoarthritis
The GAIT trial involved 1,583 participants with knee osteoarthritis who took the supplements for 24 weeks. In the placebo group, 60.1% reported reduced pain. Glucosamine only improved this rate by 3.9 percentage points (P=0.30), while chondroitin added 5.3 percentage points (P=0.17). Taking both together yielded a 6.5 percentage point improvement (P=0.09). All these differences are so small they could easily be due to chance. Spending 700–1,800 RMB yearly essentially buys you the same placebo effect seen in 60% of participants.
Roughly 2–5 RMB per day, or 700–1,800 RMB per year.
As noted above, glucosamine and chondroitin showed minimal benefits compared to placebo. The real active drug…
Roughly 2–5 RMB per day, or 700–1,800 RMB per year.
As noted above, glucosamine and chondroitin showed minimal benefits compared to placebo. The real active drug in the trial, celecoxib, produced a 10.0 percentage point improvement (P=0.008). The perceived value of glucosamine/chondroitin stems from their “cartilage-repair” reputation and the fact that placebo alone helped 60% of patients.
Clegg DO et al. (2006). Glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, and the two in combination for painful knee osteoarthritis. NEJM. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa052771
Open source linkControversy: Among participants with severe baseline pain, those taking both supplements saw a 79.2% pain-reduction rate versus 54.3% in the placebo group (P=0.002). However, researchers note this finding was derived post-hoc and should be viewed as a preliminary clue rather than a definitive conclusion. Proven treatments for knee osteoarthritis include weight loss and muscle-strengthening exercises — see Section 2.