Chondroitin And Glucosamine For Joint Pain
There are some doctors who will always tell you that natural treatments don’t work. Nevermind all of the clinical studies that are just as valid as any prescription studies. No matter the greater numbers of those studies! They don’t mean anything to some professionals. But when it comes to arthritis and joint pain, some have turned more toward natural treatments than prescriptions.
If you are looking into prescriptions, there are your basic pain relievers. They are more powerful than aspirin. But all they do is relieve inflammation and pain. They do not stop the problem in its tracks. In extreme cases, they have immunosuppressants. But if you have any kind of compromised immune system, they won’t let you take these. They could make you more susceptible to infection and a number of other serious health problems.
But for a while now, many patients have been looking into the combination of chondroitin and glucosamine. They have considered it to be the two molecule formula that can improve the health of your cartilage, joints, and other parts of your body. It is meant to actually rebuild the joints, helping you to naturally reverse the process that has already been started. But the question is, does the combination of chondroitin and glucosamine actually work?
Glucosamine is a natural precursor to what is called glycosaminoglycan. It is used in the natural formation and repair of cartilage. On the other hand, chondroitin is the most abundant form of glycosaminoglycan in the cartilage and therefore in the joints. It is largely responsible for the overall resiliency of cartilage. These ingredients have been known to have few if any side effects. And some have compared them to NSAIDS.
The difference between an NSAID and a chondroitin and glucosamine supplement is that this natural supplement for one thing takes time to build up in the system. A NSAID is meant to start working to reduce inflammation and pain immediately. Chondroitin and glucosamine could take weeks to build up enough to start showing results. Yes, they are effective, and actually preparing for the long term is a better approach than temporarily alleviating the pain. But many want instant gratification.
There are good and bad sides to both. The main complaint we’ve heard about prescriptions is that they actually end up causing intestinal bleeding, upset, and otherwise damage. People would rather take something like aspirin. But the thing we’ve heard about chondroitin and glucosamine is that people just don’t like waiting. We can’t say we particularly blame them at this point in time. The best way to alleviate this is to take aspirin or a natural anti inflammatory with it. Many products actually provide you with both in the same supplements.