[Closed] Dodgy knees and glucosamine supplements.

Did nothing for me even in quite large doses over a decent amount of time. Cortisone injections were great though but the effect didn’t last.
My consultant said just take pain killers if it hurts.

Tried it and it did nothing for me.  The only thing that has ever helped is resistance training in the gym, lots of bosu ball balance exercises and squats, lunges and deadlifts.  quite a few unilateral exercises too. Carrying a few injuries at the moment which have kept me out of the gym and my knee and lower back pain is creeping back as my strength and fitness wanes.

Marine Collagen has made a big difference to my knees.

I've taken glucosamine and hydrocortisone near enough daily for seven years now. I Still have knee pain occasionally but it's low level and ****ty - a sort of tired feeling, but in my knee. Every now and again I realise that I haven't noticed my knee for a while and come off them, thinking that they're not doing anything. Two weeks later I'm always back on them...

100 bodyweight squats three to five times a week totally sorted mine. I still chug a glucosamine, a fish oil, vit D and a multivit/minerals most days, but more as a preventative, rather than a problem solver.

I’ve taken glucosamine and hydrocortisone near enough daily for seven years now

Is taking hydrocortisone for so long definitely a good idea? It's an immune suppressant, isn't it?

Took glucosamine for ages, but to be honest I have never noticed any difference. You need to find out what the cause of your pain is as you can make things a bit better by building up the relevant muscles as suggested above. Try and get referred for an MRI scan.

Hydrocortisone is an anti-inflammatory. If that's what is keeping your pain down then it should be fixable with physiotherapy

There’s no evidence of benefit.

Glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate alone or in combination did not reduce pain effectively in the overall group of patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. Exploratory analyses suggest that the combination of glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate may be effective in the subgroup of patients with moderate-to-severe knee pain.

New England Journal of Medicine. Largest placebo controlled randomised trial ever done.

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa052771

Periformis muscle release solved all my mystery knee pain. Loads of vids on you tube explaining how to do it.

I've never had serious issues, but any bother I have had has been fixed with movement.
As above, regular Hindu squats keep trouble at bay.

Sounds like that may be beyond you at the moment though, so check out Knees over toes guy on Instagram or YouTube.
He starts out with walking backwards, progressing to dragging a sled backwards for rehab.

Periformis is a huge pain in the ass. Lol
It completely sent one side of my body wonky due to being a stubborn fool and just carrying on.
It put huge strain on my knee and lower calf muscle.
Is turmeric any good? I've got friends that take it?

Yeah the periformis releases changed my life, I was plagued with knee pain for years and was told I had torn cartilage etc by a physio. I was never convinced as there had never been an event that could realistically have caused it. By chance someone told me about piriformis problems and the first time I did the exercises it was a moment of joy as I felt the pain melt away. A tennis ball in just the right place and then increasing my weight on it was all it took.

I had physio on mine after having x-rays for arthritis in the hips the releif was just amazing.

Lots to think about there so thank you.
I had an MRI scan and they said it didn't show anything up. The thought of squats is making me cringe because I'm in a lot of pain just walking up the stairs at the moment. I've never heard of Periformis before. Will have a look tomorrow. As for the supplement, I know lots of people think they do nothing and I'm sure the lower quality ones don't, which is why I've started looking at more expensive versions. The problem with this is that you have no idea whether the websites have done proper tests or whether they're just getting a sweetener from the makers of any supplements they recommend? I've found one with a 60 day money back guarantee so do you think this is enough time to actually notice a difference?

When you do a lunge, or walk down the stairs how many planes does your knee bend in? Do you find that as well as bending to lower you it also moves inwards towards the other leg?

Didnt do anything for me but Im going to try that piriformis stretch right now

Have osteoarthritis of the right knee and left knee is pretty worn. Had multiple operations when playing football and rugby. Have tried Glucosamine and chondroitin and cortisone injections. None really worked. Best thing is a daily 5k walk some of it on rough uneven ground.

Try near infra red LED light on it (850mn wavelengh) Very good for pain relief and healing.

Had knee pain for years (ligaments all torn apart in a motorcycle accident).
Tried all kinds of stuff from the doctors and supplements.
All they gave me was an addiction to codeine.

Only two things made a difference:
Getting BMI under 25
Lifting weights in the gym

Now I can walk off road for 10 hours at a time, repeatedly barbell squat well over my own bodyweight and never touch painkillers.

I used to get knee pain from cycling, read that it could be an imbalance in my leg muscles which pulls the knee to the side under use. Changed my cycling shoes to ones with an insole that make you put more weight on the outside of my foot. Backed off the cycling for a bit and did regular squats. Sorted my knee pain out. It can come back if I ride all day but soon subsides again.

I also suffer from bouts of lower back pain but regular stretching, swimming, foam roller work and squats/deadlifts help keep this to a minimum as well.

I found it a revelation that lifting weights actually helped with pain. So counterintuitive.

100 bodyweight squats three to five times a week

100 in one go, or through the day?

Well I may give squats a try as a few people have mentioned that. I'm also going to try the glucosamine with 60 day guarantee, so will resurrect this thread in about two months with my thoughts on whether they're doing anything or not. Fingers crossed because I can't take a lot more of this. Maybe 50 is the age we all start falling apart.

I found it a revelation that lifting weights actually helped with pain. So counterintuitive.

1. Your body is ruthlessly efficient. If it feels that a structure is over engineered for the task at hand (ie it is not being exposed to regular high load) it will start to remove material to save energy
2. Removing material makes it weaker (obvs)
3. Subsequent sporadic high loading of this structure that is now too weak to cope with the task you are asking it to do causes damage and pain

I always figured the weightlifting was good as it increased the strength of leg muscles (especially the side to side/wobbly ones) to make up for the weakness in the joint (ligaments/tendons/cartilage etc).

I could be totally wrong though!

Just to add to the above I use a keg press with some pretty heavy weights and that has helped. I'd rather squat but my knees can give way.

Had sore knees for years. Lots of cycling, ankle weights and resistance bands have really helped.

Physio now and then when it flares up.

Glucosamine & other supplements didn't help me at all I'm afraid

100 bodyweight squats three to five times a week totally sorted mine.

Im also finding this helps. I generally do 5 * 20 interspersed with other exercises/stretches. Having said that, be careful doing squats to ensure you have the correct technique and make sure your spine is reasonably supple/warmed up first.

My physio advised me not to do squats too soon after getting out of bed as the spine needs some time to settle down. I did my lower back in by squatting within a few minutes of getting out of bed. That was f$$king painful and put my fitness back by about four weeks 🙁

100 in one go, or through the day?

Usually 50 then 2 or 3 games of Microsoft Solitaire, then 50. I have done the 100 in one go, but it hurt the next day, so I don't.

If I'm doing press ups as well, I'll do 40 press, 50 squat, 30p, 50s and 30p to finish. Sit ups or pull-ups I'll fit in in smaller batches through the day. If you already have insulted your knees too much, this might not be possible or advisable, but I built up to it over time and it works for me. I had started making the old person getting up noise, but don't any more.

glucosamine supplements.

We bought a lot for my father (91 year old) as his knee joints are rubbing but the supplement does bugger all for him. Waste of money.

However, my view is that supplements should be taken before rather after you notice worn out in the joints.