Glucosamine & Chondroitin Evidence?

[Guest ArtysPeople]

Our girl Gravy, who will be 5 this autumn, has some arthritis in a front elbow and a vet has recommended adding nutritional supplements to help her condition. She's always had a distinct "hitch" in her gait, and she sometimes starts to lag behind toward the end of walks, but she's such a trooper that we (and our previous vet) hadn't really thought much about it. It was only because we've moved and now have a new vet that the subject even came up. I should note that the diagnosis was made by hand -- no xrays were done or even advised. Of course if there's something I can do that will prevent her pain, I want to do it, but I also don't have money to waste(and WOW can the supplements get expensive for a 65 lb. dog).

 

So I'm trying to do some self-education on the various supplements available and their efficacy. In humans, the most recent studies I found were reported in the New England Journal of Medicine in Feb. 2006: Glucosamine HCl and Chondroitin sulfate alone were not effective, but glucosamine sulfate (or glucosamine sulfate plus chondroitin sulfate for those with moderate-severe symptoms) might provide some relief for those with osteoarthritis in the knee. They recommend trying the supplements for 3 months if the patient desires, then discontinuing if there is no relief. The accompanying editorial also noted there is no evidence that these supplements prevent osteoarthritis or have any effect in patients with normal xrays.

 

Is anyone aware of more recent studies, or -- even better -- actual studies involving canine patients? Also, does anyone know of a reliable source for dosage information in dogs?

 

Thanks in advance!

[Batmom]

Honestly, I would get an x-ray. You can't diagnose arthritis by hand.

 

 

 

ETA: I haven't found any convincing, reproducible evidence that glucosamine and/or chondroitin do much in people, let alone in dogs.

Edited September 10, 2011 by Batmom

[Guest ArtysPeople]

Thanks for the response, Batmom. I also thought it was kind of odd that the vet didn't even mention doing an xray, which now that I've done a bit of reading, seems to be the way to make the diagnosis. But I'm not a vet, so what do I know?

[Guest Swifthounds]

No help on the studies. As expensive as some of the supplements can be, they needn't be expensive if you go for quality and do shopping around.

 

I supplement all of my hounds, starting around age three and add as they go along. That, combined with keeping optimum fitness and a good weight has meant that none of my hounds has progressed to needing daily NSAIDs.

 

I would believe it was all silliness if it weren't the case that exercise, proper nutrition and supplementation is, for me, the difference between being an athlete and being disabled.

 

The biggest reason I see where people don't see improvement in the dog is either weight (which will strain the skeleton more than anything additional can compensate for, even pain mess) or using too low a level of supplementation and skipping the loading dose phase some people like the Springtime supplements, but at the recommended dosage by weight it's about 25% of the successful maintenance dosage so won't do much).

[JohnF]

Evidence? If I run out of Glucosamine/Chondroitin and don't take it for 3 days my knees start to feel like they're burning. Not a placebo. The effect is subtle but enough to make one's outlook on exercise a whole lot more positive. So it will be for our dogs. The studies that have been done are 'unscientific' as they they are looking for it not to have any effect rather than seeing what they see.

Have your dog X-rayed to establish what's what and you'll also get a baseline to see what happens from.

[Guest Swifthounds]

Evidence? If I run out of Glucosamine/Chondroitin and don't take it for 3 days my knees start to feel like they're burning. Not a placebo. The effect is subtle but enough to make one's outlook on exercise a whole lot more positive. So it will be for our dogs. The studies that have been done are 'unscientific' as they they are looking for it not to have any effect rather than seeing what they see.

Have your dog X-rayed to establish what's what and you'll also get a baseline to see what happens from.

 

Agreed. Its easy to not notice improvement, but very noticeable when it's stopped. My Vixen takes a routine of glucosamine, chondroitin, msm, Boswellia, and fish oil for her joints and her LS. Taken off those for surgery, she was noticeably uncomfortable despite the addition of both tramadol and Gabapentin.