Glucosamine and Chondroitin Fail the Test

A $12.5 million study to try to demonstrate the pain-killing effect of glucosamine and chondroitin in patients with osteoarthritis has produced the opposite effect – there’s hardly any benefit of the combination, whereas celecoxib (Celebrex®) was effective in the same study.

Glucosamine and chondroitin are actually classified as ‘dietary supplements’, but they’ve become popular remedies for rheumatism patients in recent years. In the five-year, 1600-patient study, patients with painful knee osteoarthritis were randomly assigned to take placebo, Celebrex, glucosamine, chondroitin, or a combination of the two supplements for 24 weeks. Most of them had mild pain, but one in 5 had severe pain.

Celebrex proved to be most effective in pain relief, whereas the supplements alone and in combination were no better than placebo. But it must be noted that 6 out of 10 patients experienced pain relief with the placebo.

In the small group of patients with moderate to severe pain, the combination of glucosamine and chondroitin was more effective than placebo. The authors say this finding needs to be confirmed in further studies before it can be taken as evidence of effectiveness of the supplements.

Our advice for people with painful osteoarthritis: develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle – eat right, exercise regularly as far as possible, lose weight if necessary, and take pain medication as required. If you find glucosamine/chondroitin works for you, keep on taking it (but remember that placebo effect!).