Joe A Shaw PA-C - 2/5/2008

Question
Are there any supplements that show any promise in rebuilding cartilage or at least slowing down degeneration of cartilage from osteoarthritis. thank you

Answer
John,
I guess that depends on who you ask and on how many people you ask! The cashier behind the GNC counter sure does think so. For the most part there is no reliable studies showing that to be the case. (ie most studies are done by companies that sell the supplements) When these things are put to a real test or study by a third party that is where the results are disappointing. The thing you can be sure of,if there was a product like that don't you know Pfizer, Bayer and all the rest would be in on it...and you would be seeing superbowl ads...more so than Viagra!
A lot of the studies using shark cartilage or cow tracheas,crab shells etc...they often compare the results to advil...saying it gave as much relief as 400mg of advil..but cost $30-50/mo, where as generic advil is like $5.00! There has also been a question as to whether chondrotin supplements may cause prostate cancer?!
http://www.prostateforum.com/info-chondroitin.htm

The closet thing that helps OA or degenerative joint disease is keeping your weight appropriate and some form of activity or exercise. For the knees there is an injectable substance called synvisc that relieves knee pain..some pts have fantastic results others do not..I have seen it prolonged someone from getting a total knee replacement for several years.