Usually once you experience knee pain the treatment people turn to most often is knee sleeves and knee braces because these types of remedies support your knee and often prevent any new injury from happening so that the condition of your knees don’t get worse. But there is one more thing you can do to not only keep your knees from getting worse but also to keep the knees healthy for longer so that you don’t have to worry about knee pains. And that is to take different vitamins and supplements that can prevent knee pains as well as help treat them if they do occur.

Glucosamine

If you are an avid runner or maybe even an athlete you probably have heard about a supplement called glucosamine because every year billions of drugs containing glucosamine are sold worldwide. Although glucosamine do occur naturally in our bodies – in our cartilages – often it is not enough to be efficient at lessening joint pains which is why many take it as a supplement. The artificial glucosamine is made from either a a crustacean exo-sceleton or by fermenting corn or wheat. But because for example in the US and in some other countries glucosamine as drug is illegal often glucosamine sulfate, hydrochloride or glucosamine in combination with other supplements are sold under the name glucosamine. It is said that glucosamine is able to slow down the deterioration of our cartilages that cushion any shocks to our bones which means that it is able to lessen the pain especially knee pain caused by osteoarthritis and it also has anti-inflammatory effect to it which can greatly improve the range of motion of your knees. However there also are people that say that glucosamine only worsened their condition so be careful and consult with your doctor before you take it which you will probably have to do because glucosamine is over-the-counter drug meaning that you can get it only if a doctor prescribes it to you.

Chondroitin

Another drug that is wildly popular among runners is chondroitin or rather chondroitin sulfate and often people try both glucosamine and chondoitin. Chondroitin too is naturally found in human bodies more specifically in our bones as well as cartilages. And the same goes for animals so the artificial chondroitin sulfate most commonly is made from animal cartilages. Most often chondroitin is used as part of osteoarthritis treatment because many claim that this supplement helps not only with the pain of osteoarthritis but also with the inflammation and reduction of joint function that comes with this condition by retaining water in our cartilages and helping to build them back up so they can better absorb any shocks or blows we receive to our knees form running and jumping to falling down. And although similarly to glucosamine many says that chondroitin really helps with their pain and their osteoarthritis there also are claims that say that it doesn’t help at all or even has made their condition worse so there are no conclusive proof that chondroitin too is the miracle cure or knee pain. So consult with your doctor and if the doc says that it is okay to use this supplement and prescribes it to you then why not try something that has the potential to help.

SAM-e

A chemical that has weird name SAM-e or S-Adenosylmethionine is also used to threat arthritis and to prevent it too. This is another chemical that occurs in our bodies naturally – it is in almost any fluid and tissue of our body and it has a part in many important processes that happen in human body including pain formation, immune system and cell membrane maintenance. It has even been proven that SAM-e can help relive pain that is caused by different conditions such as osteoarthritis and even help with depression which is why many people take its laboratory made form as a dietary supplement.

Bromelain

A common supplement that also is thought to help with pain and swelling if you have osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis is bromelain also called pineapple because it is found in pineapples as well as other fresh plants and fruits only in smaller doses. And an extract is made from bromelain (which is extracted mainly form pineapple stems) so that people can use a more concentrated dose of it because these enzymes have the ability to break down protein so they can activate cells that help fight infection that way efficiently providing an anti-inflammatory effect and increasing in joint motion. However bromelain also is a very potent supplement meaning that by using it it can cause stomach problems and can react to medicine that is used for bud-thinning.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

A popular supplement that people all over the wold uses to help with joint pain as well as joint inflammation is Omega-3 Fatty Acids that most commonly are found in you guessed it fish oil but also oils made from other plants or nuts are used as source of Omega-3 Fatty Acids. On top of having benefits in regards to your knee health these acids also are proven to be beneficial in prevent things such as asthma, heart diseases and other conditions. So this supplement is recommended for everyone but especially if you have arthritis related knee pains.

Vitamin D

Another supplement or should I say vitamin that can greatly help with knee related conditions is vitamin D. Vitamin D is the substance in our bodies that helps us better adsorb calcium and phosphorus that we get from the food we eat but calcium and phosphorus are two very important components to our bone health. So if we have a vitamin D deficiency our musclescan become painful and weak as well as in more severe cases it can affect out bone health. And because often people don’t get enough food or sunlight which are two most common sources of vitamin D we should take vitamin D as a supplements to ensure that our joints, muscles and bones are healthy.

Calcium

To keep your knees healthy you need to keep your bones healthy too because 4 different bones meet at our knees. A very well known supplement that helps with our bone health is calcium that not only strengthens our bones but also helps to prevent osteoporosis or weakness of bones. It has been found that many people don’t consume enough calcium daily with their food usually because of a specific diet (vegans and those who are lactose intolerant often have calcium deficit) or just specific food preferences so they need to consume calcium supplement to get the benefits from calcium. Most common calcium supplement is calcium carbonate that is inexpensive and have similar effect on your calcium levels like if you would start to drink more milk. Also calcium phosphate and calcium citrate are quite common sources of calcium but in supplement form. Just make sure you don’t intake too much calcium as that can cause problems with your stomach.