Chris Carmichael, Founder and President of Carmichael Training Systems, writes: As an active guy in my forties, I feel a big difference from taking a glucosamine and chondroitin supplement. I broke my femur right above the knee in a backcountry cross-country skiing accident in 1987 and endured four knee surgeries on my way back to pro cycling. About 10 years later, I started to be bothered by knee pain when walking and running. Taking glucosamine and chondroitin helped reduce the pain and allowed me to keep going. I take it to this day, especially after the pain returned following a period a few years ago when I stopped taking it. My doctor has checked out my knees several times over the past decade and has been pleased to see little to no degradation in the cartilage.

Joint pain is often caused by worn or damaged cartilage, and glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate appear to provide an important building block that allows you body to better support the cartilage you still have. Note: I didn’t say that it restores your cartilage; the research on that subject is, in my opinion, still inconclusive. However, some studies have shown that supplements can relieve pain to a similar extent as OTC pain medications, especially for people with moderate to severe pain. There also appears to be a lot of personal variation; it works better for some people than others.

I guess I’m one of the lucky ones. The combination of glucosamine and chondroitin seems to be working just fine for my knees. With the very low risk of side effects, I plan to keep taking it as long as the rest of my body can motor up a steep mountain road. According to my calculations, I should have to worry about that for another 40-odd years.

[This was adapted from the upcoming book 5 Essentials for a Winning Life, The Nutrition, Fitness, and Life Plan for Discovering the Champion Within (Rodale).]

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