Best Supplement For Joint Pain

Best Individual Ingredients For Joint Pain Supplements

Vit K2 - Recent studies have shown that Vitamin K is incredibly important for sufferers of joint pain, particularly those with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoporosis. [1] Insufficient vitamin K was also shown to be related to the progression of osteoarthritis. [2] And beyond that Vitamin K has an anti-inflammatory effect that is independent of it's essential function in helping prevent cartilage breakdown and maintaining joint function. [3] As a lot of this information is relatively new, with most studies being from 2017 onwards, it's not made it's way into a lot of supplements for arthritis yet, but it is being allowed for clinical recommendation in many countries.

Vit D - Vitamin D also seems to be largely ignored by joint pain relief supplement makers, but people with low vitamin D levels will often experience joint pain, it's also important for long term joint health. Whilst supplementation of Vitamin D3 will not improve pain in people with sufficient levels, it can stop problems getting worse, with low vitamin D levels being linked to the progression of Rheumatoid Arthritis amongst other joint conditions. [4]

Omega 3 - Omega 3 fatty acids are probably the most well known of all joint pain relief supplements. Most people are aware of the need for Omega 3 to maintain brain and joint health. What most people don't realise is quite how much Omega 3 is optimal, with recommended daily intakes being around 1100mg. This is even more shocking to people when they realise a lot of popular omega 3 supplements contain less than a 3rd of this, the well known Omega XL being one such example. [5] Using omega in supplements for arthritis pain has been shown to be quite effective, with patients showing significant reduction in joint pain and inflammation in multiple clinical trials. [6]

Ginger - Ginger has been shown to be effective as a supplement to reduce joint pain, [7] the only issue with ginger as used in joint health supplements is that very large doses are required to relieve joint pain. With studies showing that 3000mg a day are required to be effective. Fortunately there are now specific extracts such as Eurovita Extract 77 which have been trailed to be as effective [8] with 12 times less volume by extracting just the active gingerols.

Curcumin extract (Turmeric) - Curcumin is the active ingredient in turmeric extracts, it's been well studied and is one of the best joint supplements for relieving pain. Typically most studies used it in conjunction with other pain relievers, but noticed a reduced requirement in a lot of randomized clinical trials. The only thing that really holds Curcumin back from being fully clinically backed is that most of the studies have not been of substantial enough size, but almost all shown in multiple meta analysis [9] show it to be effective in doses of 500mg-1000mg for treating arthritis pain, lower is typically required for OA by comparison to RA.

Glucosamine hydrochloride - Glucosamine, often combined into a supplement containing both glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate is mostly effective at treating joint pain, but not the narrowing that causes arthritis symptoms or improving movement and inflammation. It is required to be used in quite high dosages and some people seem to be intolerant. However, if you've tried other supplements then it's not a bad port of call. It does seem that chondroitin which it is often paired with is less effective. It is listed as being allowed for clinical treatment in the UK [10] and other european countries to be dosed at 1250mg/day or above. Some supplements will use glucosamine sulfate, this is less effective and you would need to take more to get the same results.

Methylsulfonylmethane - MSM is quite well backed as a natural supplement for joint pain. The arthritis foundation lists the most effective dosage of 6000mg, so it's not something that can really be added in an effective dosage to combined joint supplements. [8]

Bromelain - Has showed promise as a treatment for joint pain in general and for osteoarthritis. But more studies are needed. 500mg is the standard dose for OA, with up to 2000mg for RA.

Boswellic acid - Boswellic acids have been widely reported to produce anti-inflammatory activity and as a result it's been shown to have promise in treating chronic inflammatory diseases including osteoarthritis, Parkinson's and even simple injured joints. [11]

Resveratrol - Is a relatively uncommon ingredient for a joint supplement. As of right now only 2 quality supplements that we're aware of contain it. Although it has been shown to be effective at treating joint pain. It's been shown to be effective in relatively low doses of around 100mg which makes it good for combined supplements. [12] It like omega 3 is also really good for brain health.