Joint Pain and Supplements

[Arith]

Hi Guys, its been a while. Ok, here's the question. I broke the radial head on my left elbow about three years ago while at work. The exray's did not show a big break but i had to go through a few months of therapy in order to get movement back in my arm, which was almost completely limited. The injury has effected my weight lifting. My elbow gets extremely sore after a workout and sometimes during the workout i will feel a "tweak" in it that will make me stop whatever exerise i may be doing. Besides going back to the doctor, which i am considering, i have heard of a few supplements that are suppose to help heal joints or help with joint pain and injuries. What are the names of these supplements and do they work or are they B.S? Thanks guys.

[GraemeK]

Search on Google.com for MSM.
Its a naturally occuring sulphur. Its all the same apart from purity so it doesnt change too much between brand.

The better sources have a higher mg than the cheaper ones. MSM in short is the basic buliding blocks for bone, hair, skin etc and helps to make healthy cells.

Its main selling point is arthritis as it helps to relive pain in joints.

G

[Fudomyo]

Broken bones suck. I've only had 6 myself, so I can offer some advice.

They never quite heal exactly as they were placed before, so I'm sure you joint is just doing some readjusting. I broke my collar bone in 3 pieces and it took a year and a half before my shoulder felt good again.

I would take a pile of Calcium. Your body will remove bone you don't need, and add bone in newly stressed places. All assuming you have a nice supply of calcium around. The best calcium supplements (Ca carbonate) have only a 40% bioavailability. That doesn't include what you don't absorb. You can take several grams before you even get to the government RDA.

Glucosamine and the like help lubricate your joints, so that might offer some help.

Your best bet is to take an ice bag to the gym. Just keep in the car and apply after your workout. That keeps everything from swelling (which can cut off blood supply and make things worse).

So basically, I'm telling u to suck it up. The calcium and ice will shorten your healing time (probably by half), but in the mean time they won't help you elbow feel any better (sweet!).

Be sure and skip on the pain pills, especially before a workout. They knock out your intracellular hormones, which probably does all that bone/tendon healing. They also reduce/elliminate cortisol, which is the major helper for your joints.

Hope all that helps.
Fudo

[Cougar]

Glucosamine is wonderful stuff.

Otherwise, MSM and chondroitin both help somewhat.

[Jnkyrd Dog]

I take these every day and I have no more pain:

Glucosamine Sulfate - 2664 mg
MSM - 2000 mg
Chondroitin Sulfate - 528 mg
Vitamin C - 160 mg
Natural Vitamin E - 24 IU