Syn-flex liquid glucosamine

Bandolier Library, UK
Dr Proctor from Gainsborough asked what evidence there was that glucosamine was an effective treatment for arthritis. He found:

Eight randomised trials involving oral or intramuscular glucosamine. Articles on intra-articular injection, or where the material used was not clearly defined as glucosamine were excluded, as were non-randomised case series. All those included examined oral and/or intramuscular glucosamine in patients with arthritis over periods of up to eight weeks. Most had well-described methods and six had quality scores of 3 or more on a five-point scale. Oral doses of glucosamine sulphate were 1.5 grams a day, and intramuscular doses were 400 mg twice or three times a week.

Placebo-controlled trials
Five trials compared glucosamine with placebo. All showed statistical superiority of glucosamine. Four of these had dichotomous outcomes for calculating NNTs, which ranged from 1.7 to 6.3 in individual trials. Overall the NNT was 5.0 (3.5 to 8.9). This means that one of every five patients with arthritis who are treated with glucosamine, one would have short term benefits in reduced pain and tenderness who would not have had if they had been given a placebo.

Active-controlled trials
Three trials compared glucosamine with NSAID (phenylbutazone or ibuprofen). There was no difference between ibuprofen (1.2 g/day) and oral glucosamine (1.5 g/day).

Adverse effects
Few adverse effects or study withdrawals were reported for glucosamine. They tended to occur less frequently with glucosamine than with NSAID. A large open study of 1208 arthritis patients taking oral glucosamine 1.5 g/day for 13 to 99 days [10] had 28 patients who stopped taking glucosamine because of adverse effects. Those adverse effects reported in more than 1% of patients were epigastric pain/tenderness, heartburn, diarrhoea and nausea.

Comment
The bottom line is that there is a body of evidence supporting the efficacy of oral and intramuscular glucosamine in arthritis.

The above information is provided for general educational purposes only. It is not intended to replace competent health care advice received from a knowledgeable healthcare professional. You are urged to seek healthcare advice for the treatment of any illness or disease.
Health Canada and the FDA (USA) have not evaluated these statements. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Glucosamine ingredients

Syn-flex ingredients
Glucosamine