Glucosamine Placebo Effect

Other wise known as “sugar pills,” placebo drugs are used to test the effectiveness of drugs against an inactive standard. By testing a known substance against an inactive agent (a placebo), if one groups starts to feel better (and the designers can later verify with statistics which group was on the placebo and which wasn’t on the placebo) then effects of bias can be filtered out. Glucosamine has long been known for its effects, both clinically and anecdotally.

In theory during clinical trials, only the actual substance you are trying test for is being tested because even the doctors who are giving the medicine and placebo and making sure that proper dosages are being administered do not know which is which. Glucosamine has endured many double blind placebo tests and in all clinical trials to date (over 20 years of trials) it has always been better than placebo. The evidence therefore in favor of Glucosamine is pretty substantial that there is not a placebo effect. Glucosamine works for people and continues to because it gives the body what it needs. It's most effective for those suffering from osteoarthritis, and with capsules, it can takes as long as a month to really start feeling relief. Once you obtain relief, you continue to feel that way provided you continue providing your body with the Glucosamine it needs. Some people report increased joint mobility and range of motion in addition to the discomfort relief commonly associated with Glucosamine. More evidence against the placebo effect lies in the evidence that Glucosamine continues working after you have stopped taking it. Many clinical trials reflect this fact, something that suggests that Glucosamine is rebuilding cartilage rather than just masking joint pain like the detrimental NSAIDS. Click here to read more about the dangers of NSAIDs.

Another concrete example of Glucosamine’s effectiveness is due to the long history of use in animals. Animals do not know if they are taking a placebo or a real product and as such they will only respond to what actually produces results. Results you simply would not see in a placebo. Dogs that jump up stairs that were nearly lame before, cats who would no longer want to be picked up or move around because of their hip dysplasia. Some of the first animal uses of Glucosamine were in Thoroughbred Horses - that can cost millions of dollars each. And there most certainly were results for them as well. The use of glucosamine in horses and the incredible results that were obtained made people wonder if in fact they could use it for their own arthritic joints. They were right, and Glucosamine – still not in widespread media or commonly accepted several years ago due to its short track record and classification not as a drug but as a supplement or nutraceutical – was quickly gaining notoriety and support.

Fast forward to today. There are many vendors of your generic run of the mill Glucosamine. Many offer you just the simple glucosamine and some also try and sell you on the potassium or sodium (KCl or NaCl) chloride salts, which means you are effectively paying for up to 30% of the glucosamine you take to be cheap table salt. Our suggestion is to find a reasonably priced (about a dollar a day) supplier with a track report, and more than just one ingredient. Get as many ingredients as you can for a reasonable price (no more than a dollar fifty a day.) Just think, if a supplier trying to prey off what you don’t know about glucosamine and is selling a cream based glucosamine (which has an enormously difficult time being absorbed into the skin) or the glucosamine salts (which can give you 30% less glucosamine), would you trust them to put the appropriate dosages into their product in the first place?

At least as long as you are actually taking glucosamine, you can rest assured it's working because it’s actually simply boosting the natural processes at work all of the time - rebuilding your cartilage and lubricating your joints.

Be sure to visit the Glucosamine Product Guide for a review of commercially available glucosamine products broken down by 9 different categories such as price per month, quality and type. Learn what the best products out there are and how we ranked each.