More than 46 million Americans suffer from arthritis, with many of those seeking relief from natural products; however, an article in the Los Angeles Times say few natural arthritis remedies have been well studied, and even fewer have been shown to work. This may be due to studying supplements of inconsistent type and quality.
Writer Elena Conis said lab studies on yucca root, mangosteen juice and fish oil supplements indicate they might help fight inflammation, but no solid evidence exists that any of them relieve the symptoms of arthritis in people. Additionally, some studies suggest Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) and S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) may be comparable to traditional anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving drugs at reducing pain, but she said the total number of studies on both is small.
The top dogs in this category are glucosamine and chondroitin, but she noted the first study on their effects on arthritis in 1969 was small, followed people for only a short time and used supplements of inconsistent type and quality. The recent large-scale, well-designed studies that examined the effects of the two supplements together and independently have shown promising, but mixed results.
She mentioned the 2006 Glucosamine/Chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial (GAIT), a study of more than 1,500 adults with knee osteoarthritis (OA), which found neither glucosamine nor chondroitin sulfate — taken alone or together — worked much better than the placebo; but among patients with severe pain, the combination of glucosamine plus chondroitin sulfate did appear to reduce pain. Overall, the prescription drug provided the most relief — and did so faster than the supplements or placebo.
Meta analyses of glucosamine and chondroitin have shown to reduce knee OA pain when taken together, but results are inconsistent, she said.
These inconsistent results may stem from supplements with different forms and levels of active ingredients.