Anyone taking anything for their joints?

[MadnNatsmom]

I was listening to a radio show on health and they were talking about preventing joint degeneration with supplements.

I'm a runner and love Cathe's cardio, both of which are very high impact.

I'm wondering how many of you are taking supplements and has it helped your joints?

 

[dss62467]

I take glucosomine and it has helped very much. I was having a lot of problems with my knees and ankles and they hardly bother me anymore.

 

[Mckmain]

I take a supplement of Glucosamine/Chondroitin, and I have for about 8 years. I run also and don't have alot of joint problems. I have suffered from tendonitis and I had read in a Runner's World issue some time ago about this kind of supplement helping possibly with tendons also......Carole

 

[exercise forever]

with the inflammation I have at my achilles tendon, would that supplement be something I should consider taking?


kim

 

[EricaH]

I recently started taking glucosamine also and it has definitely helped my good knee. No more achiness after running or high impact. My "bad" knee is still giving me a lot of trouble, though - I've been putting off an arthroscopy for a while hoping to avoid surgery. I'm a runner also, and my MRI showed a lot of degeneration in my knee for my age (I'm 37). I don't think I'll ever be able to run high mileage again.

Erica

 

[Mckmain]

>
>
>
> with the inflammation I have at my achilles tendon, would
>that supplement be something I should consider taking?
>
>
> kim

Kim, it really wouldn't hurt to try...achilles tendonitis is my main tendonitis problem.......Carole

 

[kathryn]

I take either a vegan glucosamine powder, or something called "Mega Flax Joint," which contains flax, vegan glucosamine, and a blend of other ingredients like bioflavnoids and some herbs that are supposed to be good for joints (I alternate between the two, putting a scoop of one or the other in my morning smoothie, adding ground flax if I don't take the MFJ). It seems to have helped my knees. The improvement was gradual, but I'm able to do more without the discomfort it would give me in the past.

 

[finsgirl]

I also take glucosamine and as Kathryn said, it was a gradual improvement, but I do not have knee issues as I did in the past. I had to modify my workouts a bit until my knees felt better. I also worked on strenghening the muscles surrounding the knees and stayed away from lunges, squats,leg presses, and high impact cardio. I have now returned to running (gradually) and my knees have had NO problems whatsoever! I also attribute this to buying running shoes with special padding for overpronators.


Angie

 

[MadnNatsmom]

>>>I also worked on strenghening the muscles surrounding the knees and stayed away from lunges, squats,leg presses, and high impact cardio.<<<<

Angie,

May I ask what types of exercises you are doing to strengthen the muscles surrounding the knee?

 

[exercise forever]

Hey carole,

I went to wal-mart this morning and got that supplement. I took mine with all my other vitamins and it said to take it once a day. I will give it a try. Also when you said you have tendonitis in your foot,when it flares up do you continue working out or do you lay off? I wondering is it something that may possibly flare up anytime from now on?


I just don't get enough information for this even from doctors. They said just do this and this and see me later. I am not going to the same doctor when I go back. I will have to go further from my house to get a better one.

kim

 

[Mckmain]

>
>
> Hey carole,
>
> I went to wal-mart this morning and got that supplement. I
>took mine with all my other vitamins and it said to take it
>once a day. I will give it a try. Also when you said you have
>tendonitis in your foot,when it flares up do you continue
>working out or do you lay off? I wondering is it something
>that may possibly flare up anytime from now on?
>
>
>

Kim, I normally get my achilles tendonitis from running. Sometimes from increasing weekly mileage too quickly or running too many hills, or could be an age thing too......about the only thing I could do when it flares up is my Nordic track. Stepping can hurt it too. I ice it 3 times a day and back off running and it usually goes away. I think taking the supplement gets me thru the healing a bit faster, so for you to give it a try is a good thing......Carole

 

[vidfan]

I started taking a glucosamine/chondritin/msm supplement about 2 years ago to help with knee pain from working out. It really helped - after about a month, the pain was mostly gone, but not completely gone. Then I read a short article in one of the fitness magazines that dicussed a study which found that glucosame/chondritin/msm cream applied to the knees once a day relieved pain better than the supplements. So I added the knee cream and it worked like a miracle! For the last 1-1/2 years I have had no knee pain or any other troublesome symptoms despite working out hard with lots of cardio. Last time I went to the store to buy more of the cream, the saleswoman said that she's having trouble keeping it in stock because so many of her customers are now using it. So if the supplements are helping but not getting all of your symptoms, the cream may be something to try.