I am a 59 year old woman with arthritis in the knees

I am trying to attend a gym about 3days a week, and they suggest I take a multi vitamin, but so many to choose from.  I seem to be tired alot.I also have arthritis,and especially in my knees[have just had them xray] and they seem to be on the move again.

I am not on any medication.  Have been taking Nutralife High Potency Joint Care,which doesnt seem to be having a effect at the moment and still got another 2 jars left to take yet.

Is there something else I should be taking with these?  Only be taking them about 5 weeks.
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Gary:
The Nutralife Joint Care may be of benefit but you need to use this consistently for about three months at close to the maximum dose on the label before you will know for sure.

I am generally not all that keen on multi which is very much a hit and miss approach to nutrition.  It is much more preferable that a person completes a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis and then changes their diet and choose supplements going by what is found in the testing.

Fatigue and arthritis are often associated with an excess of calcium in the diet and a relative deficiency of magnesium, so in the absence of any testing, you could work on reducing your calcium intake by cutting out dairy for a start and take a magnesium supplement daily.

There are a number of other nutrients that may contribute to joint degeneration and fatigue when in deficiency or excess.  These include copper, zinc, boron, cobalt and selenium.  lack of protein is common.  Testing will indicate what, if anything is out of balance.

With regards to joint supplements, the Nutralife Joint Factors 4500 may be better suited for your age and condition; but finish what you have first, or get some Joint Factors and alternate daily.

Please read more of my articles related to this topic by clicking on the key words at the bottom of this post. 

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I have been diagnosed with water on the knee with mild degenerative changes

What has sparked me to contact you is an article I read by you in the Walking magazine issue 128.

The thing is I have recently been diagnosed with water on the knee with X-rays reporting arthritis (mild degenerative changes) so I’ve stopped all my usual exercise high impact classes – as knee has been too sore anyway and I’m seeing a physio, and also started taking glucosamine tabs.

However, I was interested to read the advice you had given a reader in your article with a knee arthritic condition also, that he shouldn’t walk or cycle but swim. 

Having been an exercise addict for 23 years I would find it hard to give up walking, cycling etc and my knee seems to be a lot better now than even a week ago (has only been troublesome for a few month though).  Although I have discussed cycling etc with my physio and he seemed to think it should be ok as long as I don’t over do it.  I do intend to gradually go back to Pump classes, Zumba, cycle classes and aqua jogging, and I’m already doing an hour or so walking per day plus upper body Pilates and weights with one of our PT’s

Does Glucosamine really work?

I saw your video on youtube about the different types of glucosamine substances for knee joints. I am 18 and trying to join the military, I have already had surgery on my knee to smooth out rough cartilage, my doctor says that genetically my cartilage is soft and thin, he says they look like the knees of a 40 yr old man (and im only 18 yrs old).

Image: Lorraine Moller - Strong legs from progressive conditioning during her early years.

I've been taking some Glucosamine Sulfate for awhile, it seems to help a little, what i was wondering is what type of glucosamine you would suggest for me, on you video you show the glucosamine for athletes, but since my cartilage is not the same as other young atheletes do you feel I should be taking the glucosamine for older joints? the one with higher MSM in it?

I've tried to do a lot of research on the internet about weather or not Glucosamine actually works, I have found some reports that say it only has a placebo affect, and some reports show that it does regrow cartilage, what do you think?
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Gary responds:
I assume that the surgery was for chondomalacia patella, which is a condition caused by excess wear of the underside of the kneecap. Even if there was roughening, shaving the surface is not the best option. It obviously has been of limited success given that you are seeking further assistance for knee care.

Please start your quest for healthy knees by reading the dozen or so articles here.

The comment that your knees are genetically soft and thin etc is a ridiculous statement to make and unhelpful. You are young. Your tissues are too thin and soft. This has nothing to do with genetics. It is an increasing problem worldwide as children are raised more like caged hens than anything else and fattened with GM corn.

The state of your cartilage is the result of your nutrition and the way you use your body. I have reproduced the photo above of Lorraine to show you a superbly conditioned and nourished athlete who ran huge distances from early teens to her mid 40's. Her early conditioning was tied to her young and growing body and progressive. She never had a significant knee problem. Many young athletes and their coaches throw the kids into hazardous competition situations without regards to the need to first prepare the body with progressive conditioning.

First rule of coaching: Do not injure!

A good coach will set their goal to get their athletes through to maturity (20+ years) without having suffered career limiting injuries or illness.

Nutrition is a badly neglected area and what advice there is tends to have been hijacked by the big food companies who dominate advertising in sports media and sports events. They drive academic training and research by commercial partnerships with academia. So, we end up with athletes being raised on corn syrup and colourings!

With regards to your weak cartilages, you need to look closely at what you are eating and ensure that your diet is nutrient dense by ensuring that most of what you eat is from fresh natural sources and home cooked (there is plenty of advice on this website about this). If you are living on Powerade, low fat milk, instant noodles and chicken for example, then how can you have strong bones? If you are not sporting a light year-round tan then the only outcome is bones, cartilages and muscles simular to those of a caged battery hen - soft!

Emulate the lifestyle of a free range hen - sun, daily exercise and a wide variety of healthy grubs!

Which Glucosamine is best?
In your case, the best one is Balance Joint and Cartilage Repair for Athletes. This is formulated for young joints that are being subjected to damage. It contains higher ratios of MSM and glucosamine and less chondroitin as compared to other formulations. The MSM and glucosamine are the principal nutrients for cartilage repair. Chondroitin helps hydrate the cartilages. A young joint does not need much of this nutrient, so there is not as much in this athlete formulation.

On the days you do not get sun I recommend that you take 4,000iu of natural vitamin D. If you are low in vitamin D (most people are very low nowdays) you will be prone to tendon, cartilage and bone problems.

Does Glucosamine work?
Yes it does. I have been prescribing these nutrition supplements for about 15 years and I have seen countless cases of benefit - benefit more often than not. Experts who say it does not work need to be challenged. For a start; does a surgeon or even a general doctor know much about nutrition? Not if they happened to fall asleep during the one hour of training they had on the subject and that might have been 20 years ago. When you read any research discrediting these products there are many questions to be asked, such as how advanced the arthritis was among the subjects, how much were they given and for how long, what about combinations of supplements, what measures were used and so on and so on.

Be consistent in taking the right glucosamine supplement for you for at least three months and to support this with a healthy diet and sensible exercise that does not do further damage to the joints.

Is the military the right career for you?
Basic military training, consisting of forced hikes with heavy gear on your back, leaping out of trucks and running obstacle courses and lots of squatting down, is hard on the knees. Having done my own stint in the NZ Army as a foot soldier and having a daughter who has recently completed a year in the army, I am familiar with the stresses and strains on the legs of the kind of basic military training which you will have to undergo without complaint.

My gut feeling is that it is better to avoid this kind of situation in which you are compelled to push the limits of your knees without respite. You may end up being one of the recruits who get medically pushed out. It may be better for you over the longterm to give your knees a couple of years of careful nurturing through progressive strenghtening and nutrition. You can review the military career once you are super fit and pain free.

If the military force you are considering joining has a history of torture, indiscriminate killings of civilians, assasinations, propping up of dictators and despots and planting itself in oil rich countries where it is not welcome, please reconsider your choice of career for our sake.

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what is the best glucosamine supplement for our worn knees?

Hi Gary
Which supplement(s) do you think would be best for us:

Active couple, in mid 40's. Keen trampers/MTB and try to keep running but our getting sore
knees...pain under patella and some swelling at times.

We both suffer on downhills, doctors say we're worn....

In my case I've additionally got some bone damage in my ankle (Talar dome) for which I'm
trying to avoid an Op. Can just see it in MRI.

We do still run offroad but I suspect it makes things worse. Usually 2 runs a week. I've found
leg extension exercises help the knee.

Kind regards
John
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Gary responds:
John, if your knees hurt and swell during a form of exercise such as running and hiking, then it is advisable to modify, restrict or cease the offending activity. The pain and swelling tell you that damage is being done and the arthritic processes are being needlessly accelerated. Of course, I am not about to tell you both to stop hiking and running; but you may need to back off for a year or so while you get your joints into better shape. You have a lifetime to go, so what's a year or so spent getting the body set up for the long haul?

Glucosamine, chondriotin and MSM
Gluosamine, chondroitin with MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) is definitely beneficial for even advanced cases of joint arthritis. I have been prescribing various formulations for well over 10 years now and I can tell you that these supplements do work when applied with patience and combined with other supplements and sensible approaches to exercise.

The best formulation for older joints with arthritic changes is Nutra-Life Joint Factors 4500. Take 2-3 servings per day for 3 months then ongoing once a day.

Other supplements depends on the individual with the most useful usually being coenzyme Q-10. (These products are available from this website store)

Reduce the impact and strain on joints
Formthotics Shock Stop for athletes should be fitted to all your hiking, walking and running shoes. These support the foot and ankle and reduce impact on all the joints of the legs. The other measure is to get a pair of Nordic walking poles and use these when walking and hiking. These poles are especially effective for reducing knee strain when walking downhill.

Give the knees a break
It is a sure recipe for disaster to be a one trick pony when it comes to exercise and recreation. Running, hiking and walking are too similar. Introduce other activities such as cycling, canoeing, swimming and aquajogging. Do upper body workouts. This is particularly important for women as they get older to ensure the thoracic spine is kept strong, supple and straight.

If your knees need a rest at any time, you have plenty of other exercise options sitting there in the wings that you can switch to in an instant. Spend more time exploring on your mountain bikes (When a bike is set up properly, there should be no wear of significance on the knees).

If the knees are sore - give them a break!

If you apply these suggestions and give the knees time, they will settle with time and they will give you many years of faithfull service, including running and hiking the Great NZ Outdoors.

Smash them continuously and you will be facing expensive plastic replacements by 60 years and the rest of your years restricted in your activities. While the plastic knee technology is getting pretty damn good, it is still a poor second to the real ones.

Look after your genuine pins - Love them.

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Advice about partial knee replacement surgery

I am 1 58 year old female.

I have had problems with my left knee since June, 2003. I have a lot of difficulty walking and I actually waddle to compensate for the lack of cartilage on the inside part of the left knee.

I am a candidate for a partial knee implant (the Oxford knee.) I am absolutely terrified of undergoing this operation.

I have taken Glucosamine, Chondroitin and MSM compunds for years. There may have been improvement but i still can only walk a block or two at a time.
I was reading about the Glucosamine you recommend?
What is your opinion of this situation? Keep trying alternative treatments of go for the operation?
Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you very much.

Sincerely, Barbara
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Gary Moller comments:
Barbara,
Sometimes a knee replacement is necessary and it may be that you have reached the point of no return with regards to your knee arthritis. Or, perhaps you have not. Knee replacement is the best option if the pain is seriously affecting your quality of life and all conservative options have been thoroughly tested. If this is the case, then replacement surgery can be a huge relief. and not to be terrified of. Let's look at the conservative options, giving these the best part of a year or longer to work their magic (Cartilage and bone heal very, very slowly):

• Give the glucosamine and chondroitin a fair go. In the case of your knee pain, you should take the maximum recommended dose daily for at least 3-6 months. Most people take far too little nowhere long enough for there to be much benefit. Please refer to this article here for more details.
• Do a course of mineral therapy such as the Active Elements programme.
• Add healthy omega3 oils including flax oil, evening primrose oil and fish oil to your daily diet and take lots of it (Most people take far too little for there to be much benefit).
• Add methysulfonlymethane (MSM) to the diet - up to 7,000mg/day
• Take about 2,000mg of vitamin C per day for several months
  
• Have a nutrient rich daily Super Smoothie to ensure you get a rich daily supply of proteins, fats and vitamins.
• If you have been on a low fat diet, now is the time to get off it. Your joints require a rich supply of fatty acids and the fat soluble vitamins and low fat foods supply none of these. In addition, add a little daily cod liver oil and plenty of vitamin D if you get little sunlight to the diet for at least 3-6 months.
• Get vitamin K into your diet by eating a serving daily of lightly cooked greens such as chard, broccoli or spinach with a dollop of grass fed butter or coconut oil mixed in.
• If you are overweight then you must lose that extra weight; but do so through daily exercise of a form that does not stress the knee - swimming is great. Do not lose weight by calorie restriction. Lose weight by healthy eating and exercise.
• Review any medications. Medications such as statins can cause muscle weakness and joint pain.
• Get a weekly deep tissue massage of the butt, thighs and calf muscles of both legs. Tight knotted muscles do not support the joints effectively.
  

Barbara, while you are doing this, you can remain on the waiting list for the surgery; but do not rush the operation. While you explore and exhaust the conservative options, your surgeon gets in plenty of extra practice on others! In the meantime, the replacement technologies improve and you benefit from this. With surgery, there is no turning back.

If surgery becomes inevitable because the pain is not alleviated enough, then rest assured that the time spent getting fit, strong and well nourished will leave you perfectly prepared for the surgery and recovery will be quick and without complication.

Please let us know how you get on both short and longterm.




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Just how effective is glucosamine and chondroitin for repairing joint damage?

"I've just recently learned through a series of tests that i'm suffering in my knee from advanced wear and tear. I'm not exactly sure how to say it, as i'm no expert yet, and i don't remember word for word, but the Doc basically said the results look like the results that may typically come in from a 50yrd, and i'm 27. Arthritis, bones rubbing in the joint, bone expanding due to rubbing... etc. He assured me not to take this out of proportion, and that we'll have a much better picture of what's going on once we have the MRI done, which is coming soon. For starters, i couldn't believe the results! at first, a little shocked and sad, but i'm definately not one to let a negative thing remain negative. I want to turn this around, and make a positive here, and be proactive in REPAIRING and hopefuly, fixing this problem. I came accross Glucosamine, and heard what it does. i became very interested. Essentially, the heart of every arthritis matter is cartiliage wear i guess. So, if this promotes the repair of cartiliage, then this is very intersting..

Sorry for drawing this out, but basically, what i wanted to know from you is how effective this stuff is in rebuilding and repairing joint problems? If i keep on this stuff, and i've already noticed a difference (i'm taking this nutri-flex fluid formula that contains the MSM and glucos) can i repair and/or prevent further damage?
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Gary Moller comments:
I have now had about 15 years experience with people using these glucosamine and chondroitin products and I have no doubt whatsoever that they work - in most cases; but not all. This view is more or less supported by the growing body of research on these natural nutrition products.

It just makes sense that a nutritional approach to managing arthritis would work best if utilised early in the development and while the person is young. While this may be the case there is evidence that these can also be beneficial for old joints and are even effective for pain relief in advanced joint wear.

I am curious as to why you have running and so much wear at such a young age? If there is joint damage such as a lax or ruptured knee ligament, then this should be repaired by a specialist knee surgeon now - while you are young. Do not leave it too late. Sort out the underlying causes of the wear and get it fixed asap.

In your case, the best joint food preparation is probably Balance Joint Food for Athletes. This is formulated for young joints that have been injured. Take the maximum recommended dose for at least three months and continue indefinitely at lower doses and certainly for as long as there is any sign of joint pain, tenderness or swelling. You must do all you can to care for your joints. Your knees have many, many years of hard work ahead of them.