Supplements glucosamine and chondroitin don't help in treatment of arthritis

Two popular supplements used to treat joint pain don't work and health authorities should stop paying for them, according to a new study, as reported by HealthDay News.

European researchers analyzed the results of 10 past trials with 3,803 patients who took glucosamine, chondroitin, or a placebo to treat arthritis in their hips or knees. They found neither supplement, taken either separately or together, did any better than a placebo.

Results of the study were published in September in the journal BMJ.

For the past decade, glucosamine and chondroitin-components of human connective tissues found in cartilage and bone-have been recommended by doctors to treat arthritis in the hip or knee.

In the analysis, researchers found no proof that glucosamine or chondroitin were dangerous. Still, they said because the supplements didn’t reduce joint pain, insurers and governments should stop buying them. “New prescriptions to patients who have not received treatment should be discouraged,” they wrote.

The Swiss National Science Foundation paid for the study.