Supplement
Glucosamine is a natural compound made from sugar and amino acids that the body uses as a building block for cartilage, the cushioning tissue in joints. Most people look at it for joint pain, especially from knee osteoarthritis, and the evidence is moderate: pain eased and overall osteoarthritis symptoms improved across a dozen studies. Even so, the studies were small, and the evidence for sudden, nonspecific knee pain was limited to one small group of 102 people.
Sources: PMID 11548224; PMID 15846645
- Updated
- How we grade
- 21 studies cited
- Best evidence
- Grade B
- Conditions studied
- 4
- Outcomes
- 7
- Graded outcomes
- 0210
Evidence by condition
- Strong
- Moderate
- Limited
- Very limited
| Grade | Outcome | Effect | Size | Studies | People | Studies list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Injury Rehabilitation Rate Small Improvement | Improves (the measure goes up) | Small effect | 102 people | |||
| Range of Motion | Improves (the measure goes up) | 1 study | 102 people | |||
Studies that measured range of motion | ||||||
Kashin-Beck Disease (KBD)
- Kashin-Beck Disease Symptoms: improves
| Grade | Outcome | Effect | Size | Studies | People | Studies list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kashin-Beck Disease Symptoms | Improves (the measure goes down) | 2 studies | 434 people | |||
Bone Health
- CTX-II: improves
| Grade | Outcome | Effect | Size | Studies | People | Studies list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CTX-II | Improves (the measure goes up) | 1 study | 32 people | |||
What the published studies found
2 automated readings
Joint pain
The studies disagree. The best available review (2013, 3 studies, 309 people) did not settle it for joint pain, while 4 of the 7 studies read found an improvement. The evidence is very weak.
7 studies counted of 10 read: 7 reviews.
- Systematic review, 2013; 3 studies, 309 people; chronic low back pain with spinal osteoarthritis: unclear: evidence too weak to tell (the review the verdict rests on).
Conflicting evidence was demonstrated with pain scores
The use of glucosamine for chronic low back pain: a systematic review of randomised control trials - Systematic review, 2025; 146 studies; humans with osteoarthritis and joint pain: improves. The Safety and Efficacy of Glucosamine and/or Chondroitin in Humans: A Systematic Review
- Meta-analysis, 2023; 6 studies, 297 people; adults with knee osteoarthritis: no clear difference.
effect of G, or G and C, in combination with exercise is not significant
Effects of adding glucosamine or glucosamine combined with chondroitin to exercise on pain and physical function in adults with knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis - Meta-analysis, 2018; 18 studies; patients with osteoarthritis of the knee: improves.
marginally favorable effect of glucosamine on VAS pain scores
Effects of glucosamine in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee: a systematic review and meta-analysis - Meta-analysis, 2018: improves.
Treatments with glucosamine and chondroitin were found to significantly reduce pain in VAS [weighted mean …
Effect of glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate in symptomatic knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials - Meta-analysis, 2018; 17 studies; people with osteoarthritis: improves.
summary SMD was -0.35, with a 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = -0.54 to -0.16
Effects of Oral Glucosamine Sulfate on Osteoarthritis-Related Pain and Joint-Space Changes: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis - Meta-analysis, 2017; 5 studies, 1,625 people; people with hip or knee osteoarthritis: no clear difference.
Glucosamine was no better than placebo for pain
Subgroup analyses of the effectiveness of oral glucosamine for knee and hip osteoarthritis: a systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis from the OA trial bank
- Systematic review, 2013; 3 studies, 309 people; chronic low back pain with spinal osteoarthritis: unclear: evidence too weak to tell (the review the verdict rests on).
Low back pain
The studies read are too weak to tell whether Glucosamine changes low back pain. The strongest review read studied patients with chronic low back pain and spinal osteoarthritis. The evidence is very weak.
4 studies counted of 11 read: 2 reviews and 2 trials (282 people in the trials).
- Systematic review, 2013; 3 studies, 309 people; patients with chronic low back pain and spinal osteoarthritis: unclear: evidence too weak to tell (the review the verdict rests on).
no change in the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire score in all studies
The use of glucosamine for chronic low back pain: a systematic review of randomised control trials - Systematic review, 2024; 19 studies, 1,408 people; active serving military personnel: no clear difference. Efficacy of Conservative Interventions for Musculoskeletal Conditions on Pain and Disability in Active Serving Military Personnel-A Systematic Review
- Randomised trial, 2010; 250 people; patients with chronic low back pain and degenerative lumbar osteoarthritis: no clear difference.
No statistically significant difference in change between groups
Effect of glucosamine on pain-related disability in patients with chronic low back pain and degenerative lumbar osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled trial - Randomised trial, 2005; 32 people; outpatients with chronic low back pain: improves.
changes from baseline VAS scores for pain at rest
Open-label, randomized, controlled pilot study of the effects of a glucosamine complex on Low back pain
- Systematic review, 2013; 3 studies, 309 people; patients with chronic low back pain and spinal osteoarthritis: unclear: evidence too weak to tell (the review the verdict rests on).
Key findings
- Osteoarthritis SymptomsImproves (the measure goes down)
- PainImproves (the measure goes down)
- Injury Rehabilitation RateImproves (the measure goes up)
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Third-party tested Glucosamine products, in the forms the graded studies used where we can match them.
- Grade B
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Studies cited
21 studies from PubMed
- Glucosamine therapy for treating osteoarthritis
- Ayurvedic medicine offers a good alternative to glucosamine and celecoxib in the treatment of symptomatic knee osteoarthritis: a randomized, double-blind, controlled equivalence drug trial
- Comparable clinical outcomes between glucosamine sulfate-potassium chloride and glucosamine sulfate sodium chloride in patients with mild and moderate knee osteoarthritis: a randomized, double-blind study
- Glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, and the two in combination for painful knee osteoarthritis
- Effect of glucosamine hydrochloride in the treatment of pain of osteoarthritis of the knee
- Double-blind clinical evaluation of oral glucosamine sulphate in the basic treatment of osteoarthrosis
- Effectiveness of glucosamine for symptoms of knee osteoarthritis: results from an internet-based randomized double-blind controlled trial
- Long-term effects of glucosamine sulphate on osteoarthritis progression: a randomised, placebo-controlled clinical trial
- Glucosamine sulfate in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis symptoms: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study using acetaminophen as a side comparator
- Glucosamine sulfate use and delay of progression of knee osteoarthritis: a 3-year, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study
- A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of glucosamine sulphate as an analgesic in osteoarthritis of the knee
- Randomized, controlled trial of glucosamine for treating osteoarthritis of the knee
- Glucosamine sulfate in osteoarthritis of the knee
- Evaluation of glucosamine sulfate compared to ibuprofen for the treatment of temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis: a randomized double blind controlled 3 month clinical trial
- No effect of glucosamine sulfate on osteoarthritis in the temporomandibular joints--a randomized, controlled, short-term study
- Evaluation of Glucosamine sulfate and Ibuprofen effects in patients with temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis symptom.
- Glucosamine oral administration as an adjunct to hyaluronic acid injection in treating temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis.
- Kashin-Beck disease in Sichuan, China: report of a pilot open therapeutic trial
- Chondroitin sulfate and/or glucosamine hydrochloride for Kashin-Beck disease: a cluster-randomized, placebo-controlled study
- Glucosamine administration in athletes: effects on recovery of acute knee injury
- Evaluation of the effect of glucosamine administration on biomarkers for cartilage and bone metabolism in soccer players