Glucosamine is a very effective supplement that is used to treat and alleviate pain associated with arthritis. People use it because it works and it helps them cope with the pain of their arthritis.
Even though it is very popular, there have been recent research studies that have shown that glucosamine may not be as effective for arthritis as everyone believes.
Glucosamine is a kind of sugar that the body produces and this is in turn sent to the connective tissue and cartilage of the body. Chondroitin sulfate is a complex carbohydrate that assists in the cartilage’s ability to retain water. Chondroitin sulfate is often combined with glucosamine supplements
Both glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate are often taken from animal tissue. Glucosamine is primarily extracted from the shells of crustaceans such as shrimp, crab and lobster. Chondroitin sulfate comes from animal cartilage like cartilage of the shark and tracheas.
One particular study was done to see why there was such a difference in the results of glucosamine trials as it relates to the effectiveness of the supplement. They wondered if there was some bias in the results in the studies that were mainly perpetrated by the supplement industry.
These studies try to look at the use of glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate and to see if they were truly effective on arthritis. Despite the study’s taken place often times the results would come back inconclusive, so there was no way to know if glucosamine was truly effective against arthritis.
Even though the studies were done to show that glucosamine was not effective at treating arthritis, many people still believed in the supplement. People still continue to take it and others expressed tremendous benefits in the pain that they felt.
Doctors have stated that the glucosamine supplement is good for pain relief. This is especially for patients who do not have a positive reaction to ibuprofen or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.