Glucosamine supplements for knee pain?

I have been having knee pain for a couple of months. My doctor says it is an "overuse injury" but hasn't taken x-rays or anything to rule out osteoarthritis. I have been overweight all my life and first started having knee trouble in my early teens, but before this last problem I had not had bad knee pain for years. I guess all the recent exercise has aggravated it.

My doctor prescribed motrin, which has not helped so I stopped taking it after a couple of weeks, but I started taking the glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM supplements a couple of weeks ago. So far it has not helped a lot, but I understand it takes 6-12 weeks to start causing pain relief.

Has anyone else with knee pain tried this, and if so, what have your experiences been? Thanks!

Ask for the x-rays, especially those from the top.

I went in to see my doctor in my early 20s with knee pain aggravated by exercise.  My doctor told me there was nothing wrong, but sent me for x-rays anyway.  He forgot to order the x-rays from the correct angle so they screwed up the diagnosis. 

A  year later I went back to the same doctor who sent me to a knee specialist after I made him listen to the "crunchy" noises that my knees made when I bent them.  The joint specialist took one look, ordered the correct x-rays and prescribed physical therapy.

It turns out that my particular problem (typically for many women) is that the knee cap has been pulled out of alignment by strong outer quad muscles and weak inner quad muscles.  Walking with the correct alignment helps, so do some stretches and specific exercises.  The majority of the damage could have been prevented if the doctor had gotten the correct x-rays to begin with.

I now take advil before doing intensive exercise (the specialist is happy with this) and take the glucosamine with chondroitin and MSM...Trader Joe's carries it.

Thank you! When I go in to see my doctor I will bring all of this up. I did make her listen to my "crunchy noises" and she said it was just from swelling.. but I think a second visit will help.

 

If you want quicker relief, most health food stores sell glucosamine as an ointment - I have osteoarthritis and this is terrific after a long day. If you can, research acupuncture - I find it's a great relief, too.

Wow, a glucosamine ointment? I had never heard of that! I'll check it out, thanks!

In my case, the crunchy noises were cartilage that had worn away and is now floating in the knee cap area. If I had received the appropriate treatment when I initially went in, my knees would most likely not be as bad as they are now. Unfortunately you sometimes have to get insistent with your doctors and demand to be referred to a specialist if something is wrong.

Wearing knee braces occasionally helps depending on the activity and how my knees are feeling, so does advil before knee intensive activities, I'm also extremely aware of my foot position so that I don't put pressure from a bad angle. Physical therapy was the best for stopping further damage and has helped repair the condition, but I will probably have to go for another round of physical therapy now that I've lost weight and should be able to do more.

I can't really say how effective glucosamine is but it doesn't hurt except for your wallet.  I also sometimes use traumeel (sp?) which doesn't seem to do much or bengay which seems to give some relief.  I'll have to check out the glucosamine gel, it sounds interesting although I'm uncertain of the theory by which it's supposed to work. 

Without a known injury a good physical exam will rule out a need for an xray. So your doc is probably right. Glucosamine and chondroitin are great to replace the lubrication in the joints which decreases pain.

I had no known knee injury, just years of exercise (bike riding primarily) that worked the exterior quads and not the interior quads.  The specialist was able to determine that my knee caps did not point in the right direction (mine tilt towards the outside, now that I know what to look for I can see it), but got the x-rays to be sure that there wasn't something else going on.

My story sounds exactly like smwhippie's except my left knee got so bad that I could barely walk! I had to have surgery - a Synovectmy, and a cartliage shave. If you live in Cali, look up Dr Wolf in San Francisco. I love him!!!

Definantly  ask is your knee cap is tracking properly. That is the main reason my knees got bad. Since my right knee wasn't as bad, physical therapy, naproxen, and shoe inserts have really helped. I probably won't have to have it operated on 'till I'm in my 50s. Which is really good news being that I'm 25. 

Now that my knee is no longer self destructing, I can really tell the difference that glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM makes.  

P.S. What exercises are others doing to strengthen the inner quad? 

Just an update: I have been taking the supplements for over 3 weeks now, and my knee seems very improved! In December I could not walk anywhere without pain. I probably walked 2 miles yesterday and it did not hurt. I am still not using my knee intentionally (this was walking I had to do at school, not for exercise), and I plan to lay off it as much as I can for at least another couple of weeks and just do some strength exercises. I can't say for certain if it is the resting + time or the supplements, but I think it is all of it and I am going to keep taking the supplements because I think they are definitely working. I am relieved that I should be able to hike again this spring/summer!