Certainly, there is no shortage of joint products on the market that only have Glucosamine in them. And, many sell for less money than combination formulas that have Chondroitin Sulfate in them. Let’s talk about the addition of CS to the formula.
In a French study conducted in the late 1990’s, researchers compared Chondroitin with placebos to see if they could definitively prove that Chondroitin had pain-relieving qualities. This study involved 120 patients who suffered from Osteoarthritis.
One-half of the group received Chondroitin Sulfate that was administered orally. The other half of the group was given a placebo. And, both groups also received NSAID’s for their pain.
At the end of three months, the group that was given Chondroitin Sulfate had a “significant” reduction in pain. And, no side effects were reported in this group. What may be of some importance here is that a full two months after the study was completed, those taking Chondroitin Sulfate reported no pain even after the study had concluded and they were not taking CS. In other words, no Chondroitin Sulfate was used after the study but results lasted two more months.
In a second French study, researchers reported that those with damaged cartilage had been repaired by the use of Chondroitin Sulfate for three months. Those in the other group had no repair to their cartilage absent the use of Chondroitin Sulfate.
I think the only reasonable conclusion is that both Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate are effective in handling OA and that formulas using both are more effective than those that do not have Chondroitin Sulfate in them.