Written by Tatjana Djakovic, Staff Writer. A study on 55 participants with joint pain after exercise, showed that 80% were pain free after three months of taking collagen.
Arthritis and other rheumatoid conditions are a big and growing concern for the large majority of the population. In fact, more than 21% of US adults (46.4 million persons) were found to have self-reported doctor-diagnosed arthritis (1). Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are often used in patients with joint pain. They often come with serious side effects such as: changes in kidney functions, blood pressure, liver injury, increased bleeding and a variety of gastro-intestinal problems, including ulcers (2). In an effort to find an alternative treatment, researchers have found collagen to be helpful in improving joint function. Collagen is the most abundant protein found in joint cartilage and its strength and resilience is due to extensive cross linking of collagen proteins. In the arthritic joints, cartilage is deficient and therefore researchers have postulated that replacement of cartilage will improve joint function.
A recent randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted in 55 subjects that experience joint discomfort with physical activity, but had no prior history of arthritic disease. The subjects were given 40 mg of type II collagen (most abundant type found in joints) daily that was derived from chicken sternum and their knee function was monitored after several strenuous tests during a 120 day period. It is has been seen that strenuous exercises, activates processes in the body, that result in arthritic disease (4)
The researchers used the following indicators of knee function: time until onset of joint pain during a performance test on step mill at a high level of intensity during a 10 minute period, average knee extension measured in degrees and the number of pain-free subjects after 90 days.
|
Collagen (n= 27) |
Placebo (n=28) |
Percent Change |
P value |
|
| Average knee extension (degrees) after 120 days | Baseline 73.2 | Baseline- 71.0 | Collagen- 10.2% | P=0.011 |
| After 120 days-81.5 | After 120 days-74.5 | Placebo- 4.92% | ||
| Time to onset of initial joint pain (minutes) | Baseline-1.4 | Baseline-1.3 | Collagen- 50% | P=0.019 |
| After 120 days- 2.8 | After 120 days-1.7 | Placebo- 23.6% | ||
| Number of pain-free subjects at day 90 | 5 | 1 | 80% |
P<0.05 |
The results indicate that intake of collagen type II improved joint function significantly and the number of people who were pain-free was higher in the group that took the collagen type II supplement. Collagen also supports joint flexibility as demonstrated by greater knee extension. This ingredient has been determined to be safe for human consumption and provides an effective way to manage pain of the joints and increase flexibility (4). It would be helpful to reproduce this study in patients that have been diagnosed with arthritic joints and determine if collagen can alleviate pain and improve flexibility to the same extent as in non-arthritic subjects.
Source: Lugo, James P., et al. “Undenatured type II collagen (UC-II®) for joint support: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in healthy volunteers.” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 10.1 (2013): 48.
© 2013 Lugo et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)
Click here to read the full text study.
Posted November 19, 2013.
References:
- Lawrence, Reva C., et al. “Estimates of the prevalence of arthritis and other rheumatic conditions in the United States: Part II.” Arthritis & Rheumatism 58.1 (2008): 26-35.
- Ong, C. K. S., et al. “An evidence-based update on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.” Clinical medicine & research 5.1 (2007): 19-34.
- Eyre, David. “Collagen of articular cartilage.” Arthritis research 4.1 (2002): 30-35.
- Udani, Jay., et al. “Undenatured Type II collagen (UC-II) for Joint Support: A Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in healthy volunteers.” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (2013), 10:48.
