Glucosamine Dosage

A lot of people are taking "joint vitamins", or glucosamine and other supplements for joint pain associated with arthritis, but I see a lot of mistakes out there that are leading to wasted money and poor results. The main problem is improper glucosamine dosage and timing of that dosage.

First off, glucosamine is really only going to be effective for one type of arthritis, and that's osteoarthritis (OA). Also called degenerative joint disease, this is wear and tear arthritis (as compared to rheumatoid arthritis, which is autoimmune in nature).

Basically, you're wearing out your cartilage faster than your body can replace it. Usually, this is caused by repetitive stress, especially explosive or pounding repetitive stress (running and jumping).

Glucosamine provides precursors to a major component of cartilage. The theory goes, if you make it much easier for your body to make cartilage, you can keep up with the damage you're doing or even reverse the damage you've already done.

The thing is, even with supplementation, your body makes cartilage at a slow rate. So if you're thinking that you are going to pop a pill or two and poof, there goes the pain... not so much.

Quite the opposite, in fact. You're going to have to take glucosamine consistently for at least six to eight weeks to see if there's going to be any effect. And by "consistently", I mean, "religiously". Don't miss a single dose.

Speaking of dose, 1500 milligrams a day is the standard glucosamine dosage. I strongly advise you to break that up into thirds and take with food at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That's 500 milligrams each time, three times a day, for six to eight weeks minimum.

At that point, you'll have a pretty good idea as to whether or not glucosamine will have any effect on your joint pain. In my experience, the odds are about fifty percent that it will work for you. But you won't know for sure unless you take the right dosage spread out during the day and do it consistently for that six to eight week time period.

You can improve your odds of success by giving yourself some rest during the first week or two that you take glucosamine, and then slowly begin incorporating light exercise for the affected area. Think warm-up weights if it's your upper body, or walking if it's your legs. Light swimming is also okay.

By stressing your joints just a tiny little bit, you will send a signal to the body to build up the joints and actually use the glucosamine you're taking. However, if you keep the exercise light and mild, you won't continue the process of breaking the joint down.

So, rest for a few weeks, followed by light and mild exercise, combined with the proper glucosamine dosage of 500 milligrams, three times daily for six to eight weeks. That's your best bet for the use of this particular supplement.